A Lingering Sin
by lazyisabella
Summary: The year is 2013 and Ciel Phantomhive, a young boy with a traumatizing past and more money than he knows what to do with, ventures into an abandoned mansion. He expects to find nothing more than empty rooms but instead stumbles upon a man that may be even more dangerous than he seems. "You do not have to give in to the temptation I offer."
1. Chapter 1

The boy only has slight qualms as he enters the large abandoned mansion.

It's a magnificent building, the architecture decidedly Victorian and the sculpture in the fountain out front is nearly in one piece.

The boy would love to pay to have the mansion restored to live in, but for the time being he's content with exploring it on his own.

The halls echo with his footfalls as he moves through the derelict building, using only his cellphone as a light.

Ghosts are very common in London, stories about them even more common. The boy doesn't fear ghosts as he moves through room after room in the manor.

When he had seen the building yesterday with Alois, he'd wanted to demand that the driver stop and allow him to go inside immediately. However, that would've put a kink in the blonde's plans to go see the newest Channing Tatum movie and Ciel just couldn't derail that, could he?

Nevertheless, the boy is in the mansion now and examining the rooms as he likes.

They were all in fairly well condition, the building was neither charred nor damaged by water, merely abandoned. There was no reason for the building to become dilapidated as far as the young boy could see. He pushes open one of the heavy wooden doors and enters another room very similar to the previous one. The only difference between the two is that there is a book laying on the desk in this room.

"Diary of Tanaka" is printed on the front in elegant scroll and as the boy opens the pages he is extremely gentle with them, noticing how worn and yellowed they are. He skims the words written across the yellowed pages in a steady hand, not really reading them until a name appears that makes his stomach drop: Ciel Phantomhive.

"What the hell?" The boy demands aloud as he reads his name in the book.

He feels like Alois is about to jump out and yell 'Gotcha!", giggling as he offers to take Ciel to Harvey Nichols to make up for this prank. When Alois doesn't make a surprise appearance, Ciel begins reading the first entry of the diary, actually absorbing the words and trying to gather the context his name is being used in.

Apparently, the diary is being written to a Ciel Phantomhive by someone named Tanaka. He's telling the story of how Ciel's father was murdered by Queen Victoria and how the father, Vincent, had known beforehand. He had requested that Tanaka not tell Ciel of the Queen's involvement in his murder, because Ciel should 'harbor no hatred against the Queen, for hatred achieves nothing'.

It makes Ciel think of his own father and wonder how in the hell this journal, that is obviously decades old, has his name written in it, as if he were alive all those years ago. His first assumption was a coincidence, but it mentioned his father's name as well.

Ciel sighs and pulls his phone out of his pocket, prepared to call his chauffeur and tell him to come pick him up. The journal with his name in it makes him feel uneasy. He just wants to go back to his mansion and mull things over.

He needs to decide whether or not he wants to restore this manor to live in or completely ignore it. The thought that it could belong to someone else doesn't even cross his mind, because it doesn't matter; if someone owns the mansion he'll just pay them off.

He unlocks his phone, only for it to immediately die, the familiar apple logo appearing before the screen goes completely black. He hadn't realized how dark it was until his phone light disappeared.

There was no light in the room save for a few rays of moonlight that were streaming in through the window. Ciel wishes that he'd come to this abandoned mansion during the daylight, but he knew that Imogen, his caretaker, would never agree to it.

A crow caws outside the window, making Ciel jump and his heart to speed up. He places a palm over his chest in an attempt to calm his erratic heart beat and tries not to think of all the scary things he's seen in his life.

Ciel sighs and pushes his frightened thoughts away, reminding himself that there is nothing to be afraid of. As soon as that thought enters his mind, he catches movement in the corner of the room.

The shadows pool in that corner, the moonlight not quite reaching the far recesses of the room.

Ciel can't make out much in the darkness, but he can see... something moving closer to him in the shadows. He can't even tell if it's human, can't make out a definite shape and he really wishes that he'd brought a gun with him.

He'd be praying right now if he believed in such a thing.

The shape in the darkness moves closer, coalescing into a young man. Ciel lets out a shaky breath as all the images of demons and monsters that haunt his imagination flutter away as a young man steps out of the darkness.

"My little lord..." The man murmurs.


	2. Chapter 2

"How long were you lurking there?" Ciel demands, his fear quickly giving way to anger.

"Always the brat, I see." The man murmurs. His voice was silky and sounded like it was made from the darkness itself. He didn't sound cold, or even annoyed... merely amused.

"Do you have any idea who you're calling a brat?" Ciel demands, personally affronted.

"Yes, I do. The royal Ciel Phantomhive of the ever-lovely RBKC." The man murmurs. Ciel swallows, not anticipating the man knowing so much about him.

Ciel can't really make out much of the man's features, but he can tell that his skin is pale, practically luminous in this light.  
"Why do you know so much about me?" Ciel demands.

"A lot of people seem to know a lot about you. You're not really anonymous when you're running one of the biggest confectionary and toy companies in London, now are you?" The man murmurs.

"That's true, I suppose. You could've just looked me up on the internet. But, why are you lurking around here in the shadows?" Ciel questions. "Do you own this place?"

"No. I was merely a servant here." The man replies.

"A servant, huh? What happened to this building? Why was it abandoned?" Ciel questions. Maybe this guy could give him some answers as to what happened to the building that would help him make a decision as to what to do with it.

"That I do not know. I left the building in the hands of three former servants." The man responds.

"Why?" Ciel asks.

"The previous master wished to depart and I went with him." The man replies.

"What an idiot. Why would anyone leave this building behind?" Ciel demands.

"It was a necessary requirement at the time." The man still doesn't sound fed up or even mildly annoyed, which confuses Ciel. Normally by this point, Imogen would've told him to go upstairs and 'play with his toys', as would've any other adult he spoke to.

"What is your name?" Ciel asks.

"Sebastian Michaelis." The man replies.

"That's an odd surname. Not from around here, are you?" Ciel questions.

"I'm afraid not." Sebastian chuckles.

"Well, I best be going. Please refrain from coming here again... I'm planning on restoring this building and it would be a nuisance if you were loitering around while my people were trying to get work done." Ceil commands.

"Seeing as how it is extremely dark outside and there is a man lurking in the bushes, I'll escort you back to your house." Sebastian says.

"What do you mean, a man lurking in the bushes?" Ciel demands. The idea seems preposterous and Ciel's pretty sure that this guy is just making this up to try to follow him home.

"The man saw you come in here all alone and is waiting in the bushes out front for you to walk by. I believe he has chloroform and plans to do some very unsavory things." Sebastian replies. His voice is low and Ciel swallows, because he doesn't know what to do.

All of the stranger danger methods he'd been taught during school had to be thrown out the window here because he was completely at this guy's mercy. He could let him walk him home and risk getting a stalker or walk outside alone and end up getting attacked by a man in the bushes.

_Oh, who is he kidding? There's no man in the bloody bushes._

"Thank you, but I'll take my chances." Ciel replies coldly. On the inside, he's hoping that there really isn't a guy in the bushes and that Sebastian won't grab him from behind when he walks out the door.

Sebastian doesn't say anything, just watches as Ciel slips out of the room and moves down the hallway quickly, wanting to put distance between himself and the man.

Ciel bursts out of the house and inhales deeply, relaxing for a moment.

He feels so much safer now that he's away from that guy.

Ciel's suddenly yanked off the stone porch and into the bushes, a hand holding a damp rag over his mouth and nose.

He tries to scream, but quickly realizes his mistake as he inhales against the rag. He thrashes against his attacker's hold, but he isn't strong enough to break it.

Darkness claws at the corners of his vision and Ciel thrashes one last time, the rag slipping from his mouth momentarily.

Ciel manages to scream a hoarse "Sebastian!", silently hoping that the man will hear him and rescue him. He'd take that man who'd materialized from the shadows over this pervert who was holding the rag over his face again any day.

Memories are lurking at the edge of Ciel's mind, memories of foul hands just like this man's touching him, desecrating him just like this man surely will.

Ciel wonders vaguely if Imogen will even miss him or if she'll just take all his money and live in his mansion without him, not giving a single damn for the small boy she'd taken care of for years.

Ciel's thoughts jerk to a stop when he falls to the ground, the pervert with the chloroform making strange gagging noises.

Ciel glances up and realizes that Sebastian's choking the guy.

Ciel has mixed emotions about this. He's surprised that Sebastian even came to rescue him after calling him a brat and forewarning him of this pervert and he's also appalled that Sebastian is actually hurting the pervert _for_ him.

Ciel's eyes are wide with shock as he watches the man claw at Sebastian's hands, desperate to get air into his lungs.

Ciel can't really say he feels any pity for the man.

He glances at the pervert's face, wondering just how many boys he's attempted to kidnap and how many of them ever managed to escape.

The thought makes him sick and he has to press a hand to the side of his head to stop the onslaught of sickening memories pressing at the edge of his mind.

"Should I kill him?" Sebastian questions offhandedly.

Note: The RBKC is the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which is where Ciel is currently living.

Also, I apologize for another cliff hanger ending. I feel like that's gonna happen a lot in this story.


	3. Chapter 3

The old man's feet are dangling above the ground and he doesn't look light, but Sebastian isn't having too much difficulty.

"Do you want me to kill him?" Ciel glances up as Sebastian repeats his question.

For once, the life of someone else is in his hands. Even though it's a pervert, Ciel doesn't know if the guy should be killed or not. Sebastian's hands loosen slightly and Ciel notices that his fingernails are painted black, contrasting sharply against the white of the man's throat.

"I don't care." Ciel suddenly decides. Sebastian's eyes linger on him for a moment, before turning his attention back to the man in front of him. He tightens his grip on the man's throat and Ciel looks away as the man slowly dies.

Ciel doesn't look at Sebastian again until there's a heavy thump behind him.

"My lord... " Sebastian murmurs, his shadow falling over Ciel's form on the ground.

"That's the second time you've called me that tonight." Ciel says coldly.

"My apologies." Sebastian replies. "I believe you should go home now. It is late and you're obviously very cold."

Ciel suddenly realizes that he's shaking, although he doesn't really feel cold. Sebastian drapes a thick coat over his shoulders and it's a wool pea coat, obviously expensive and well-made. Kindness isn't often shown to Ciel and he almost isn't sure how to react. He hesitates for a moment before pulling the jacket tighter around his shoulders.

"I suppose you can come back to my mansion for the night." Ciel sighs. He doesn't really want this mysterious man in his mansion, but Sebastian did save him from that pervert and Ciel refuses to be indebted to anyone.

"It would be greatly appreciated." Sebastian says. Ciel nods and then stands on slightly shaky legs, more from the attack than anything else.

Ciel leads the way back to his mansion, grumbling to himself about Apple products and how unreliable they are. The walk doesn't take too long but Ciel's teeth are chattering by the time they get back to his house.

He's about to walk in the front door but then he remembers that he snuck out and the door's locked.

"We'll have to climb the tree to enter my bedroom." Ciel sighs.

"May I ask why we don't just take the front door?" Sebastian questions.

"Isn't it obvious I snuck out?" Ciel demands, angrily crossing his arms and glancing up at the tree in front of him.

When he'd had an incentive, it'd been easy climbing down the tree, but now he just wants to go to sleep.

"Really, you're such a bad child." Sebastian laughs, sounding amused. He then proceeds to walk up to the front door and push it open, lock be damned.

"Lead the way, my little lord." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel sighs and steps inside first, slipping his shoes off so he can move silently through the house. He motions for Sebastian to do the same and hands him his coat back, wondering where he can put Sebastian.

"You'll stay in one of the guest rooms." Ciel commands.

"Coming in at this hour?" A voice demands and suddenly the lights are on, bright and momentarily blinding. Ciel throws an arm up against his eyes.

"And bringing a stranger home? Who the hell are you?"

"I do apologize for intruding; I am Sebastian M-" Sebastian is interrupted by Ciel's sharp voice.

"Sebastian will be staying in a guest bedroom tonight. It won't be a problem, Imogen." Ciel says coldly. He glares up at the petite woman, silently telling her who's in charge. She may be his 'caretaker', but only because Ciel pays her to.

When his parents had died he'd refused to be sent to an orphanage and as there was no other family to claim him, he paid Imogen to sign papers stating that she'd take care of him, while in reality, Ciel was paying her to sit around in his mansion all day.

"Ciel, inviting strangers into the house is not a safe idea. I'm sorry sir, but you can't stay here for the night." Imogen says, her voice firm.

"It's quite-" Sebastian is cut off abruptly for the second time that night.

"Sebastian will be staying here for the night, Imogen. He was of great assistance to me earlier in the night and I will not be indebted to him." Ciel says. It's no longer about Sebastian staying here, it's about a matter of wills. Ciel needs Imogen to know who's in charge around here.

"Ciel, you-"

"Imogen, if you have a problem with this, you can collect your final paycheck in the morning. Goodnight." Ciel says, clearly dismissing the woman. She's older than him, but obviously under his control.

Ciel motions for Sebastian to follow him and he does, the young boy leading the demon upstairs to the bedrooms.

When Ciel glances at Sebastian out of the corner of his eye, he sees a smirk on the man's features that can only be described as beguiling.


	4. Chapter 4

Sebastian lies down on the bed Ciel offered him, not even planning on sleeping in it.

The night is mostly over now and Sebastian doesn't sleep often, considering it a luxury meant to be indulged in in moderation.

He isn't sure as to what he is going to do in the morning or how he is going to speak to Ciel again, but he figures that things will be easier in the morning once the boy's had a good night's sleep.

The door to Sebastian's room clicks open and Ciel walks in, wearing a loose pair of pajamas. They're pants and long-sleeved and Sebastian isn't used to seeing so much of Ciel's skin covered up.

"I have questions for you." Ciel murmurs, closing the door behind him. Sebastian shouldn't be surprised that Ciel is just as commanding and dominating as he was in the 1800's, but he is.

This child so far seems identical to the one Sebastian knew in the past.

"I'm sure your caretaker wouldn't like this." Sebastian says. Ciel shrugs in response and leans against the wall, watching the man sitting on the bed for a moment.

"Why did you kill that man? You could have let him go." Ciel questions.

"That man would've went out and kidnapped countless other boys and profaned them. He didn't deserve to live." Sebastian replies.

"That was your only reason?" Ciel asks.

"In truth, I enjoyed killing him... he shouldn't have attempted to harm you." Sebastian says. Ciel swallows audibly and glances at the man on the bed, realizing suddenly how little he knows of Sebastian.

From what he'd just said, the man obviously has a sadistic side and enjoys killing people.

His words make Ciel nervous, but there's a part of him that's pleased at Sebastian's actions, although he'll never admit it.

"You said you originally were a servant. Who was your original master?" Ciel demands, switching to another topic. He's trying to brush off the feeling of unease he has around the man, but it's hard to when he knows so little about him.

"Ciel Phantomhive." Sebastian responds. Ciel automatically locks eyes with Sebastian, searching them for a sign of falsehood.

"Am I his descendent?" Ciel demands.

"Not quite... I do believe this would be easier to explain in the morning." Sebastian says, looking at the dark circles under the young child's eyes.

It's also weird for the boy to not have an eye patch on. Sebastian isn't used to seeing both of those blue eyes looking at him.

"Absolutely not. You might try to leave in the night. I want answers now." Ciel says. Sebastian's eyes linger on the child's face, taking in his slight features.

"I'll answer two more questions tonight but no more. I give you my word that I will not leave until all your questions have been answered tomorrow." Sebastian says. Ciel wants to argue, but he does have school in the morning and he believes the man's words. They have a darker feel to them; they seem archaic and sacred, something he can believe in.

"Alright. If I am not his descendent, then how are we connected? The name surely isn't a coincidence." Ciel murmurs.

"Hardly. You and he are the same." Sebastian says. Ciel's eyes widen for a moment, before he scoffs.

"Do not mock me. I may seem like a child, but you will not treat me like one." Ciel snaps.

"I am not mocking you. I am telling you the truth; the original Ciel Phantomhive is standing before me." Sebastian declares.

"That doesn't make sense. It's impossible! That journal was from the 1800s at least. There's no way it was written about me. Explain yourself." Ciel commands, getting worked up due to his lack of understanding.

"I believe it is time for you to go to sleep for the night." Sebastian murmurs, his voice low and pleasant. Ciel wants to argue, but he really does feel sleepy all of a sudden. Sebastian guides him to his bedroom with a hand on his shoulder even though Ciel's pretty sure he didn't tell Sebastian where it was.

Ciel yawns hugely once they reach his bedroom door and Sebastian turns to leave.

"Wait," Ciel says as he grabs Sebastian's shirt to stop him. It's black and incredibly soft, distracting Ciel for a moment. "Promise you'll be here in the morning for more questions?"

"I promise, my lord." Sebastian bows before walking back to the bedroom he'd be sleeping in for the night. Ciel's too tired to even ask why Sebastian called him 'my lord' again.

It doesn't sit wrong with Ciel however... actually it sits far from it, but Ciel isn't sure what it means.

Ciel doesn't bother locking the door to his room nor does he attempt to get under the covers, far too exhausted by the events of the night.

He sleeps dreamlessly and unperturbed until the morning.

"Ciel, it's time to get up." Imogen murmurs, opening the curtains wide.

"Five more minutes." He grumbles, rolling over onto his side.

"I can't do that; I let you sleep in a half an hour later than usual. You have to get up now." Imogen snaps.

Ciel immediately jolts up and rubs at his eyes, glaring at his alarm clock and reading the numbers.

"I only have twenty minutes to get ready if I wish to arrive at school on time." Ciel sighs, moving out of bed swiftly. "Leave, Imogen."

"I was just wondering, what would you like me to do about your little _friend_?" Imogen questions, making it obvious by her emphasis on 'friend' her dislike for Sebastian.

Ciel had almost forgotten about all the strange events of last night, including Sebastian, but now he thinks of the pale man who has answers to many of his questions.

"Make sure that he stays here until I return from school. Offer him anything he wants, but make sure that he doesn't leave." Ciel commands, brushing his hair quickly once he's dressed.

"Alright." Imogen responds, sounding displeased. Ciel could care less what the woman thinks; he merely hired her to pose as his adopted parent so he wouldn't be sent to an orphanage.

Ciel doesn't bother stopping by to see Sebastian before he leaves for school, presuming that the man is asleep in the bedroom he'd left him in.

"Please pick up Alois and then take us to McDonald's." Ciel tells the chauffeur before leaning back in the seat and turning his phone on. He's not very fond of the fast food restaurant, but he does adore the frappes they have; the chocolate in them is divine.

He has a few texts from Lizzie, wondering if he'll go to the movies with her this weekend, which he promptly responds to with a firm no, and one from Alois asking if he'll go to a gay bar with him this weekend, which he responds to with the same answer.

"Why not? Have you ever been to a gay bar?" Alois demands as he gets into the backseat of the car, ignoring formalities.

"No and I'd rather not. You're not even of legal age." Ciel responds. Alois huffs and crosses his legs angrily.

"Well fine then, suit yourself. I'll just drag someone else with me. Besides, you're not of age either, y'know?" Alois grumbles.

"Go ahead." Ciel replies, ignoring the age comment.

"So who were you with _all_ last night?" Alois questions, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I was home last night. What do you mean?" Ciel lies. Alois shouldn't have had any idea that Ciel wasn't home last night; they live close together but not that close.

"No you weren't. Imogen called me last night, expecting you to be over at my house. I was going to lie to help cover your tracks, but since you didn't include me in on the fun, I decided not to." Alois says with a slight smirk. Ciel sighs, because it's times like these that remind Ciel of why he doesn't like Alois.

Ciel only spends time with Alois because he has no choice.

The blonde had found out about Imogen's mock-parentry and blackmailed Ciel with it, demanding that Ciel be his friend or else he'd turn in Imogen and Ciel.

"Thanks for not helping me out." Ciel sighs, checking his e-mail while the chauffeur pulls up to the drive-thru.

Running Funtom Company while simultaneously being a middle school student was difficult to accomplish and there were days when Ciel had to do homework during meetings or check his e-mail via his phone constantly throughout the school day.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. So who was the lucky guy?" Alois demands. Ciel merely glares at him.

"Or girl, whatever... just tell me."

"There was no lucky boy or girl; I was visiting that 'haunted' house down at the end of Knightsbridge." Ciel replies. It isn't a lie. The building Ciel had visited last night was at the end of Knightsbridge and it was often considered haunted, something Ciel held very little faith in.

That building wasn't haunted by anything supernatural.

Ciel tells the driver what he and Alois want to eat, this being a daily ritual by now.

"What the hell? Why didn't you take me?" Alois demands.

"I wanted to go alone." Ciel replies. Alois crosses his arms and sighs as if being friends with Ciel is so toilsome.

"Fine. Be that way." Alois huffs. Ciel rolls his eyes, but immediately makes grabby hands at his frappe. The rest of the car ride is silent, Alois listening to music while Ciel finishes up his breakfast and responds to a few e-mails.

They arrive at the large brick building of Weston Academy exactly on time.


	5. Chapter 5

Lizzy runs over to Ciel as soon as he steps out of the car, Alois standing by awkwardly as Lizzy squeals over how cute Ciel is.

"Elizabeth! Please! You're causing a scene." Ciel says, pushing her back firmly but gently.

"Right. Sorry. You're just so cute!" Lizzie squeals, giggling as she loops her arm through his and drags him up the path. Alois follows with patient steps, the heels of his boots echoing slightly on the cement.

The rest of the school day is an utter drag, all of the subject material below Ciel's intelligence. He sits at his desk, staring at the clock and thinking of all the questions that Sebastian will soon be answering. Despite all of the questions tumbling around in Ciel's head about himself, he feels curious about Sebastian.

Ciel knows very little about the man and isn't sure what to make of him.

Sebastian seems like an okay person, however he does give the impression of being extremely dark and if the absentminded way he'd killed that pervert last night was any hint, he obviously had a sadistic side.

Ciel didn't want to admit it to himself but there was a part of him that appreciated what Sebastian had done for him.

Sebastian had protected Ciel, something only his parents had ever done, and even though Ciel doesn't like seeing people die... he didn't necessarily mind seeing Sebastian avenge him.

Ciel shook his thoughts away as the final bell rang, willing all of the dark thoughts away. He didn't want to become some sadistic freak himself, harboring dark and treacherous thoughts in his own mind.

He was already tormented enough.

The ride home was spent in relative silence, Alois occasionally attempting to make conversation and Ciel shooting him down. Lizzy didn't ride with them, but she never did; she lived in a different neighborhood and her father picked her up regardless.

Ciel offers a half-hearted wave to Alois as he leaves the car.

The closer Ciel gets to his house, the more nervous he feels. He can't even explain why but it just feels like there's a knot in his stomach, twisting as he walks up the driveway and enters the house.

"How was school?" Imogen questions as he walks inside and takes his shoes off, tossing his bag on the bench in the entrance hall. Her behavior is very out of character, considering that she never asks about his day when they're alone, and Ciel's automatically suspicious.

"Yes... how was school?" Sebastian questions, sounding amused. Ciel glares at them both as he rounds the corner of the small hallway and enters the living room.

"It was fine." Ciel huffs, sitting down on the armchair across from Sebastian. Imogen's occupying the loveseat and Ciel refuses to sit down too close to Sebastian, not wanting to put himself in a vulnerable position.

"Sebastian, I believe we'll be going upstairs now." Ciel says, standing up almost as soon as he sat down. He keeps his eyes locked on the screen of his phone and tries to seem indifferent due to Imogen's presence in the room.

"As you wish." Sebastian replies, following Ciel up the stairs.

Ciel leads Sebastian into the upstairs living room, which was styled by Imogen and is far too urban-looking for Ciel's taste. The room has one complete glass wall, looking out over the RBKC, and is furnished with two leather chairs a love seat, a glass coffee table and end table. The artwork on the wall is horrible and really shouldn't even be labeled as art. Ciel makes a mental note to get the room re-decorated.

"You can sit in one of the chairs." Ciel says, claiming the loveseat as his own. He wants his own seat so he can feel even slightly superior to Sebastian.

"May I begin with the questions?" Ciel asks automatically. He doesn't want to linger on pleasantries, especially when this man has information.

"Of course. I'm just not so sure on how well you're going to respond to the answers." Sebastian replies. Ciel lets his gaze flicker to Sebastian's, searching his eyes for something that will tell Ciel what he means. Ciel had previously thought that Sebastian's eyes were brown, but in this moment they look as dark a red as blood.

"First and foremost, explain to me why you seem to believe that I was your previous master." Ciel commands, crossing his legs and arms. Sebastian's eyes catch the movements before he answers.

"I believe that you were my previous master because you _are_ my previous master. You..." Sebastian trails off suddenly, as if he'd had a thought and then lost it.

"I'm what?" Ciel demands.

"I'm attempting to approach this in the most rational way, little master." Sebastian murmurs.

Ciel huffs but allows Sebastian time to think. He doesn't even comment on the 'little master' tacked on at the end of the sentence. Ciel actually kind of likes the reverent way Sebastian says 'little master' or 'little lord'; it's very ego-pleasing and the worshipful tone makes Ciel think of devoutly religious people.

Although, it's completely preposterous to think that Sebastian is devoutly religious _to_ Ciel.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?" Sebastian asks suddenly. Ciel's mind makes the connection for him and he automatically narrows his eyes at Sebastian.

"Are you implying that I'm the reincarnation of your original master?" Ciel questions, his voice low.

"Yes." Sebastian replies.

"Do you have any proof of that? Reincarnation has never been proven and I find it hard to believe that I'm the reincarnation of someone that lived in the 1800s." Ciel murmurs. He's not really buying this whole reincarnation thing and is starting to think that Sebastian's insane.

"I know things of your past and things about you in your past life, but I'm not sure how much overlaps with this life." Sebastian says.

"Describe the 'original' me." Ciel sighs. He's merely humoring Sebastian at this point, wanting to force Sebastian to leave.

Last night he'd seemed sane, albeit a little frightening, but now he seems crazy.

"Describe you?" Sebastian murmurs, pressing a finger to his chin and tilting his head. Ciel has to jerk his gaze away from Sebastian so he won't blush at Sebastian's salacious expression. "You attempted to be very stoic and not get close to anyone, although you did care about a few people throughout your short life. You had to grow up at a young age due to the fact that your parents were killed when your were 10. You were kidnapped the same day your parents died, held captive and used as a sacrificial lamb of sorts- young master?" Sebastian stops, standing up to catch Ciel before his face smacks off the coffee table as he falls off the couch.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian demands, running his hand down the front of Ciel's shirt as he looks for an injury of some kind. Ciel would push his hand away if he could function properly. Memories are pushing at Ciel's skull, making him feel dizzy and shaky.

He thought that Sebastian was just nuts, someone looking to gain something from the head of Funtom perhaps, but as soon as he'd mentioned Ciel's parents, an onslaught of memories began pressing against his mind, showing him scenes of despair and torture.

"You-I... there." Ciel's shaking and he can't even form a complete sentence. He loathes being weak in front of anyone and he especially loathes it right now.

Ciel's leaning against Sebastian, his head resting on Sebastian's shoulder, his back to Sebastian's chest. He doesn't like being this close to the older man but he has to lean against him for a moment until he gathers enough strength to attempt to move.

Ciel manages to weakly pull himself back up onto the love seat, Sebastian doing most of the work. When he glances down at Sebastian from his perch, he's surprised to see concern etched upon the man's face.

"Finish the story." Ciel orders in a weak voice. Sebastian opens his mouth, as if to say that maybe they should continue this conversation later.

Ciel's not having that.

"Finish the story," Ciel repeats. "I want to know how it ends."


	6. Chapter 6

Sebastian sighs but does as he's told, moving back onto the chair across from the loveseat.

Ciel still feels shaky, but he does his best to ignore it. The memories aren't pressing against his skull anymore, which is a good thing to say the least.

"This is the part where things are going to get... ridiculous, perhaps? Or maybe just unbelievable?" Sebastian murmurs.

"Nevertheless, finish the story." Ciel snaps. He's very annoyed at having been so weak in front of Sebastian, but it can't be helped now.

"The man that kidnapped you had kidnapped other children as well and was part of an occult, sacrificing young boys in an attempt to summon a demon." Sebastian says. Ciel feels colder as soon as Sebastian says 'demon', something lurking in the back of his mind that he just can't reach.

"They didn't seem to understand however that because they weren't making the sacrifice, they wouldn't get the deal."

"What kind of deal?" Ciel questions weakly. He has a sick feeling in his gut and when he looks at Sebastian he can't help but see that devilish smirk even though he's not currently wearing it.

"A Faustian contract. It's a contract between a human and a demon. In exchange for the human's soul, the demon will service the human and grant their one wish, protecting them until the end." Sebastian readily replies.

"The 'original' me made a deal with a demon, correct?" Ciel asks.

"Yes. Intelligent as ever, I see. You were being held captive by that corrigible man and your screams of pain were so tortured that they called to me. I offered you a deal and you took it, despite the stipulations, demanding that I rescue you from that hell and take you into another." Sebastian says.

His voice sounds eerie as he calmly restates all of these facts and Ciel almost misses what he's saying.

"Wait. Are you saying that you are reincarnated too?" Ciel inquires, meeting Sebastian's eyes. They really do look red now, pooling with emotions that Ciel can't name.

"No." He replies.

"Explain yourself; I don't understand what you're-" Ciel cuts off when Sebastian's eyes turn a truly brilliant color, the pupils narrowed like a serpent's. The rest of his eye looks like a kind of fuchsia flame, burning bright outwards from the pupil.

"W-What is the meaning of this?" Ciel demands, attempting to stand up from the love seat and finding that his legs are too weak to support him at the moment.

"My lord, please don't be frightened. I can spell it out for you if you like, but I think it would be an insult to your intelligence." Sebastian murmurs, sounding slightly amused. For some reason, Sebastian's amusement makes Ciel more angry than anything else.

"What are you getting at?" Ciel demands, refusing to even try to make sense of Sebastian's eyes. "I don't want to sit around and play mind games with you. I'm not going to sit here and listen to you feed me fodder and jargon you've concocted in that idiotic head of yours-"

Sebastian's suddenly holding Ciel's chin, forcing Ciel into a standing position. His eyes are locked on Sebastian's, still that beautiful blend of seductive colors that swirl and hypnotize Ciel.

"I'm not playing mind games with you, nor am I feeding you fodder and jargon I concocted in my idiotic head. Everything I told you was true of your previous life and I think it's fairly similar to your current life if I'm correct. Maybe you were meant to play the role of a damsel in distress." Sebastian murmurs.

Ciel wants to pull out of his grip, demand that he unhand him, but there's something in Sebastian's face that says he should just let him talk.

"I know the role I've been allotted; it has been and always will be a demon." Sebastian says. He doesn't sound very happy. Ciel wants to deny it and yell at Sebastian for wasting his time, for holding him like this, for everything, but he can't deny it when Sebastian's eyes are glowing like this, boring into his own.

"Sebastian... I do not take lies lightly. I am still unsure as to whether this is real or not, mostly due to the fact that the idea is ridiculous." Ciel sighs. Sebastian tightens his grip on Ciel's chin, but Ciel presses on.

"That is why I will neither believe nor disbelieve this until you show me proof." Sebastian's eyes seem to dilate and then they're normal again, that red that can't even pass for brown anymore.

"What kind of proof, little master?" Sebastian asks. He lets go of Ciel's chin and Ciel straightens his shoulders, in control again.

"Proof that you are a demon as well as proof that all you have said did transpire." Ciel replies calmly.

"Were my eyes not proof enough?" Sebastian questions.

"No. I'm afraid they were not." Ciel replies.

"Well, how would my little lord like for me to prove it to him?" Sebastian inquires, a dangerous edge to his voice.

"I'm undecided at the moment. First and foremost, you need to prove that there even was an original Ciel Phantomhive who experienced all the things you described." Ciel murmurs. He isn't sure what to believe anymore and he needs time to think, alone and unhindered by Sebastian's unrelenting gaze.

"Very well. Is there a timeframe this needs to be completed in?" Sebastian questions.

"One day. If you truly are a demon, then it shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish as much." Ciel replies. His legs have regained most of their strength, but he leans on the arm on the loveseat for a moment to be safe. "I'll expect the proof at the end of tomorrow's school day." Ciel says, straightening and moving to the door.

"Yes, my lord." Ciel pauses at the words, his hand on the doorknob, and turns around so he can tell Sebastian to refrain from calling him that, but when he turns around Sebastian is no longer in the room. The balcony doors are open, curtains billowing inwards, and Ciel is quick to close the doors.

Ciel moves out of the room and into his bedroom, closing the door and stepping out of his school uniform.

He walks into the bathroom connected to his bedroom and starts the water in the tub.

He opts for a bath instead of the usual shower, deciding that he needs a good soak. The water feels good against his skin and he relaxes longer than he normally would.

So many thoughts tumble around in Ciel's mind and he isn't even sure what to think.

The story of the fire that killed his parents and the kidnapping that the 'Original Ciel' went through are almost congruent with the life Ciel has lived. His parents were killed, shot by someone unknown, and Ciel was kidnapped the very same day. He hadn't been used to summon a demon but was merely used as a means of amusement, abused in nearly every way imaginable. Sebastian hadn't specified how Ciel's parents had died in the past nor who they were killed by. He made a mental note to ask that tomorrow and then relaxed against the back of the tub.

If Sebastian was truly a demon that had made a deal with Ciel in the past, then why was Ciel alive now? Why wasn't he in hell?

Ciel wasn't very privy to how reincarnation worked but he was pretty sure it required a soul. Did that mean that Sebastian hadn't taken his soul? And had Ciel's revenge even been completed? If it had, why hadn't Sebastian devoured his soul?

Ciel merely sighs in response to his own questions and sinks a little lower in the tub.


	7. Chapter 7

Sebastian enjoys using the technology of this day and age quite a bit.

He's in some small internet cafe near Onslow Crescent, quickly searching up Ciel's past and printing anything he can find.

There'd been an investigation of sorts at Baron Kelvin's mansion. The replica of the room Ciel would've been sacrificed in had recently been discovered. Apparently, the fire Sebastian had lit had been put out before most of the basement was burnt and the horrific sacrificial room had been discovered recently enough that there were at least photographs of it, albeit black and white.

Looking at even the replica of the room made Sebastian's hatred for Baron Kelvin resurface just thinking of the man. Sebastian prints the pictures off, along with the articles that went with them. He'll take them to an acquaintance of his and get them printed in color later, if Ciel wants him to.

He isn't sure if this will jog Ciel's memory or not. The boy had nearly collapsed when he had first mentioned his previous life, so Sebastian will have to take care presenting this evidence to the child. He doesn't want to upset his young master's already troubled mind.

Sebastian pauses momentarily, his fingers hovering over the keys as he ponders what he _does_ want from his little master.

_His soul, of course_.

But it takes Sebastian a minute to answer his own question and the response feels hollow.

He smirks to himself and resumes his search, quickly pulling up a birth certificate registry. Sebastian prints off two copies of Ciel's birth certificates, just in time for a man to sit down beside him. One of the birth certificates is from the present, the other one being from the past, from the original Ciel Phantomhive.

"Mr. Michaelis?" The man questions, sliding his sunglasses down his nose a little to reveal bright green eyes.

"Your presumption is correct." Sebastian replies. The man leaves the sunglasses on but pulls out a manila envelope from the inside of his jacket.

"Alright, what exactly are you looking for?" The man asks.

"I require two passports, one for myself and another for the owner of this birth certificate." Sebastian murmurs, sliding the modern copy of Ciel's birth certificate across the table to the man.

The passports are not necessarily an order from the young boy but Sebastian is not under contract with the child yet and can therefore do a few things for the time being that will benefit himself. Besides, he's _taking_ Ciel Phantomhive away with or without the boy's consent.

"Ciel Phantomhive, eh? Isn't he the one that runs Funtom?" The man asks as he reads over the birth certificate. "He's a feminine-looking thing."

Sebastian narrows his eyes at the man. "Yes. Quite feminine."

"He's young too... can I ask you something?" The man murmurs quietly. He sounds worried and that's what makes Sebastian wary.

"Go ahead." Sebastian sighs.

"You're not gonna kidnap this kid or anything are you? Because-"

"Relax. I'm not kidnapping him. Besides, I'm offering you 600 pounds for you to give me two passports... would you really not accept my money even if I was kidnapping the child?" Sebastian inquires, smiling when he senses the unease coming from the man.

Sebastian loves helping people realize the true evil inside themselves.

"It was nice doing business with you. I'll expect those passports as soon as possible." Sebastian says, placing the money and two pictures, one of Sebastian, one of Ciel, down on the table. He leaves the man in the small internet café, hailing a cab.

"Is something wrong, Ciel?" Lizzy questions, leaning in close to him.

"No." Ciel replies. They're at lunch and his thoughts are far away, wondering if Sebastian will actually be able to present any kind of valid proof.

"Are you sure? You've been kinda distant lately." She murmurs. Ciel glances over at Lizzy, taking in her blonde hair and green eyes.

"I'm fine." Ciel says, smiling gently. Lizzy grins in response before throwing her arms around him, squealing because he's 'sooo cute'!

Alois sighs and pushes the food around on his tray, watching Ciel beside him. Ciel's rigid and tense, his mind obviously somewhere else. Lizzy runs off to say hi to a friend and as soon as she's gone, Alois leans in close to Ciel.

"You know, it's not good to lie." He whispers.

"I wasn't lying, Alois." Ciel replies. Alois merely looks at Ciel, indicating that he's not fooled.

"We're not so different... our pasts..." Alois starts, only to be interrupted by the bell. Ciel says something about getting to class and he leaves quickly, walking away before Alois can even mention their past. The blonde boy looks down at the table for a moment, staring at a spider crawling along the table.

He crushes it with his milk carton before starting to head back to class.

Ciel spends the rest of the day diligently doing his work, trying to not think about anything except the words in front of him.

He can't help but keep replaying Sebastian's words, trying to picture in his head the torture room and Sebastian rescuing him, a savior for the sacrificial lamb.

He wonders if the torture in his past life was as bad as the one in this one. He wonders how they tortured him, if they-**_No_**.

He won't think of that, won't go there. There's only so much he can bear and if he starts thinking of all these things here, he'll end up reduced to tears and a panic attack.

The final bell doesn't ring soon enough for Ciel.

He stops at his locker, shoving everything inside, where Alois meets him. They walk outside together; they don't speak as they walk.

Ciel's on his phone, reading a business report sent in by one of the companies in India, when Alois lightly touches his arm.

"Ciel... " Alois murmurs, sounding hesitant.

"Hm." Ciel responds, not glancing up from the business report.

"Who's that man waiting beside your car?" Alois questions, pointing towards a man in the distance. Ciel jerks his head up and glares when he sees the familiar black pea coat in the distance.

"Damn it." Ciel grumbles, moving ahead of Alois.

"Who is it?" Alois demands, easily catching up to Ciel with his longer legs.

"Sebastian." Ciel growls as they both arrive in front of the tall man, eyes narrowed.

Sebastian smiles in greeting and Ciel wonders why a demon looks so damn inviting.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel demands, stepping closer to Sebastian and bowing his head in an attempt to hide their conversation from Alois.

"You requested that I present the evidence today after school." Sebastian says confusedly. It appears genuine.

"Hi. I'm Alois." Alois introduces himself, holding out a hand for Sebastian to shake. Sebastian takes his hand and smiles at Alois.

Ciel glares, not liking how dainty Alois' wrist looks or how he's staring at Sebastian.

"Alois, this is Sebastian. Now, please unhand _my_ servant." Ciel orders.

"Servant?" Alois questions.

"Correct. Sebastian, do you require a ride or shall I meet you at the house?" Ciel demands, making it clear by his tone of voice that Sebastian had better not need a ride.

"I'll meet you at the house, little master." Sebastian responds. He turns to leave and follows the sidewalk back in the direction of Ciel's mansion.

Ciel climbs in the back of the car and Alois is quick to follow.


	8. Chapter 8

Ciel would prefer Alois to remain quiet for the duration of the car ride but of course, his wishes are never heeded.

"What the hell? You didn't tell me you had a new servant. Or that he was so hot." Alois mutters. He stares back wistfully at Sebastian's retreating form.

"I didn't realize I was required to inform you every time I hired a new employee. I do realize however that it is my duty to inform you that my newest employee is not interested in the likes of _you_." Ciel intones.

"Are you being possessive?" Alois demands. He's smiling like Ciel has a secret that Alois just uncovered.

"Absolutely not!" Ciel exclaims. Alois starts laughing hysterically, crooning something akin to 'sittin' in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g...'.

"Shut up!" Ciel commands, kicking his friend's shin. Ciel's blushing and it infuriates him.

"Ow. Geez, it was just a joke." Alois complains, rubbing his shin.

Ciel relaxes once he's no longer being laughed at.

The rest of the car ride lapses into silence, one end a contented satisfaction, the other slightly aggravated.

Alois doesn't speak again until he's poised halfway out of the car.

"Oh, Ciel... don't worry. I won't take him from you."

Ciel glares at the blonde until he's out of sight.

_What an idiot,_ Ciel thinks. _Sebastian's not- I wasn't..._

Ciel sighs and sends a quick message to the company in India, explaining that he'll send over the supplies they require next week.

He turns his phone off when the chauffeur pulls into his driveway, deciding that he wants to be able to focus on the information Sebastian is going to be presenting. As he walks up the driveway, leaves crunch under his feet. Ciel hadn't realized that the leaves were already falling or that it was so close to fall.

Sebastian's waiting for Ciel in the foyer, holding a manila envelope in his hands patiently.

"Do not pull something like that again." Ciel orders, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge and carrying it upstairs with him. Sebastian follows.

"Of course. Seeing as how I will most likely not be responsible for presenting anymore information to you in the future, it will not be necessary." Sebastian replies, sounding demure.

"Give me the folder." Ciel says. He sits down behind the desk in his office upstairs, holding his hand out for the evidence. Sebastian hands him the folder and then stands near the right side of his desk.

Ciel pulls the papers out and flips through them first, finding three articles of interest and a birth certificate.

The birth certificate is for a Ciel Phantomhive, born in 1876. His parents are listed as Rachael and Vincent Phantomhive, the same names of Ciel's currently deceased parents.

One of the articles is on an underground basement which had recently been discovered.  
The basement contains a room that looks like it was used by the occult, a stone alter resting in the middle of the room, cages scattered about.  
There's a picture that goes with it, black and white but fairly high resolution.

Ciel sees the symbol engraved in the middle of the floor and he has to press a hand to the side of his head to ease the sudden pain. Memories are pressing against his skull and it _hurts_, feels like his head is going to explode.

The symbol on the floor is the exact same one that's on his back now and Ciel can almost imagine that he's being branded all over again.

"Little master?" Sebastian questions, hovering near to Ciel.

"Sebastian..." He wants to tell Sebastian that these are insufficient, that he can't believe these. However, it's not true because of the images that are attempting to be released in his mind, he can see a few flashes of that same room, covered in blood and death.

"I believe... " It takes Ciel a moment to speak through the pain in his skull but when he shuts his eyes, he can manage. "... that what you have said is true. Memories are currently trying to make themselves known... is there any way to alleviate this pain?"

"I honestly do not know. I was worried about you digging up your past for this very reason." Sebastian sighs.

"Do demons worry?" Ciel laughs; the idea seems ridiculous.

"Demons experience more emotions than is common knowledge." Sebastian responds.

"Is there not an easier way for me to regain my memories?" Ciel groans, resting his head on his desk. He feels Sebastian's fingers running through his hair and he doesn't push his hands away because it feels like the pain is easing a little.

"There is one way but it is not a method we are going to implement." Sebastian murmurs. It seems like he's keeping his voice low for Ciel's sake and Ciel smiles against the cool wood of the table, wondering how it was he had tamed a demon in his previous life.

"Why not?" Ciel questions. He raises his head to meet Sebastian's eyes and finds that his skull is no longer pounding. Sebastian automatically moves his hands back to his side, away from Ciel's head.

"It requires me to... taint your soul, something I refuse to do." Sebastian replies.

"Would it be unpleasant?" Ciel questions. The memories aren't flickering through his mind anymore, like a movie reel, but are barely there now... traces of things he can't really remember or feel.

"Quite the contrary." Sebastian says. He seems reluctant to speak about this which makes Ciel want to even more.

"Then why not do it? This way I could remember everything that has happened to me." Ciel says.

"It is not a method I am willing to take." Sebastian repeats.

"What does it entail that is so horrendous you refuse to perform it?" Ciel demands, beginning to get annoyed.

"It requires me to either kiss you or-"

"A kiss?" Ciel demands. He was imagining various forms of torture and he's caught off guard by the demon's admission. Sebastian merely tilts his head in acknowledgment.

"Well... that-that is certainly out of the question." Ciel stammers, trying to sound reticent and calm.

"Certainly." Sebastian repeats. "My lord... a question, if I may?"

"Go ahead." Ciel mutters.

"Is the task you needed me to perform to prove myself a demon still necessary?" Sebastian inquires.

"No. It is not." Ciel replies. He doesn't necessarily believe that Sebastian is a demon yet but Ciel can't handle anything else tonight.  
The clock suddenly dongs, loud and announcing six o' clock.

"I am going to bathe and then retire for the night. You may sleep in the same room as before." Ciel says.

He slips out of the room quickly, glancing back at Sebastian out of the corner of his eye.  
Sebastian looks back at him sans expression.

Ciel closes the door behind him and walks back into his bedroom.

He's quick to tug off his clothes, standing in front of the bathtub while the water warms.  
Once the tub is full, he raises his leg over the edge of the tub to step in when he hears a voice.

"My, I didn't expect you to get this far before I was in the room." Sebastian murmurs, startling Ciel so badly that he slips and falls on the tiled floor.

"What are you doing in here?" Ciel demands, pushing away from Sebastian when he tries to help him. Ciel's elbow hurts from the fall as does his side and hip.

"Your speech patterns haven't changed very much... " Sebastian murmurs, attempting to help the boy up.

"Stop changing the subject and just get out!" Ciel orders, standing up and grabbing a towel to wrap around his waist.

"Are you saying that you can bathe yourself now?" Sebastian inquires. Ciel's right leg is wet up to his calf and he can feel the water running down towards his ankle.

"Of course." He snaps. Then after a deep breath, "Sebastian, what was the... nature of our relationship in my past life?"

"The typical relationship between master and servant." Sebastian replies.

"Did you bathe me?" Ciel demands.

"Of course." Sebastian returns.

"Well, that will no longer be necessary. Now, if you will, get _out_." Ciel repeats.

"I apologize, my little lord." Sebastian replies, moving out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

Ciel relaxes once Sebastian is gone, tossing the towel down and stepping into the tub.  
His side and hip are now going to be bruised, along with his elbow, but it's good that he's made it clear to Sebastian that he no longer will be bathing his master.

Ciel can't even imagine being that dependent upon someone other than his parents.

He tries to picture Sebastian doing tedious things for him, liking giving him baths and running errands, but just can't imagine it.

He shrugs and steps out of the bathtub once he's finished, feeling a little better.  
Ciel dries off quickly and then enters his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist loosely.  
He jerks to a stop when he sees Sebastian standing in his room, holding a pair of pajamas very similar to the ones he'd had on last night.

"Sebastian... I'm assuming that you used to dress me as well... " Ciel sighs. He feels exhausted, something that's been occurring a lot as of late and he just wants to collapse on his bed.

"Of course." Sebastian returns, sounding reserved.

"That will no longer be necessary as well." Ciel says, taking the clothes from Sebastian and tossing them on his bed.

"How independent you've become, my little lord." Sebastian drawls. His voice sounds odd and _off_ somehow, different than what Ciel's accustomed to.

"Yes. So, you may leave." Ciel replies. Sebastian nods and leaves the room, the door snapping closed behind him.

_You have become quite independent, Ciel Phantomhive. We'll have to change that._

The demon smiles to himself as he moves down the long hallway towards his temporary room.


	9. Chapter 9

Ciel doesn't go to sleep like he wants to that night but instead does some research of his own.

He doesn't bother looking up anymore information about his past because he doesn't think he can handle it right now. Instead, he looks up Sebastian, trying to find as much information on him as possible.

His search yields little results as most of the people listed as Sebastian Michealis look nothing like the attractive man and are nowhere near as young.

Ciel sighs, annoyed at staying up late for nothing but deciding that he'll have to hire someone to find _something_ out about Sebastian. Ciel needs leverage of some kind, needs to know something about Sebastian, because how can Ciel know nothing about Sebastian when Sebastian knows everything about him?

These thoughts plague Ciel just before he slowly slips into unconsciousness. When he wakes up, he is still thinking of Sebastian, however it's the Sebastian that was in his dreams last night.

Ciel is positive that it wasn't a dream but a memory that he'd experienced last night in his sleep. It wasn't anything terribly important, just Sebastian hovering over him and asking him if he could close his eyes while Sebastian counted to ten. Ciel doesn't remember the reason why he had to close his eyes but he did anyways and when Sebastian's voice had reached ten, Ciel had opened his eyes to his bedroom ceiling.

Ciel isn't sure what part of his past life the dream's from but he's planning on asking Sebastian about it. When he checks the time on his phone, he realizes that breakfast is probably over.

It's a Saturday so he can relish in the fact that he doesn't have school and that Imogen will be out for the day, performing her ritual of shopping every Saturday. She probably had Ciel's chauffeur drive her, something Ciel allows only on Saturdays, and normally Ciel wouldn't really care but now he's alone in the house with a demon and no means of escape. For some reason though, he doesn't think that's going to be a problem.

Ciel moves downstairs slowly, his bare feet silent as he moves across the wooden and then tiled floor as he enters the kitchen.

He opens the fridge and then pushes things around, looking for some milk. He's never been a very big eater in the morning and he just wants to have a brownie and some milk before he talks to Sebastian. Ciel isn't sure where the demon is but he presumes that he's sleeping upstairs in the guest bedroom. Ciel grabs a chocolate brownie and his milk and moves to leave the kitchen but Sebastian's standing in the doorway.

"You still have quite the sweet tooth, I see." Sebastian remarks.

"You still seem to lurk about silently, I see." Ciel quips. Sebastian merely smiles, making Ciel glare at him in response.

"Am I interrupting a lover's quarrel?" A voice questions from the main entryway. Ciel turns his head and immediately curses internally when he sees the young blonde.

"Hardly. I was merely commenting on Sebastian's insufferable stalking habits." Ciel replies, glaring at Alois.

"Hm. Sounds like I guessed correctly." Alois returns, taking the brownie from Ciel's plate and eating it himself. He smiles up at Sebastian and Ciel wants to hit the boy. He would too, if it weren't for the fact that Alois _and_ Sebastian would mock him.

"It's very unsavory behavior to steal things from others." Sebastian says. Ciel smiles, detecting the disdain in Sebastian's voice.

"I'm a very unsavory person." Alois replies with a shrug.

"What are you doing here?" Ciel demands, setting his empty plate and glass of milk on the counter.

"I just thought I'd stop by and say hi, maybe see if you wanted to go to the mall. I heard that-"

"I'm sorry but the little master has business to attend to today. He won't have time to go to the mall. Perhaps try again tomorrow." Sebastian offers, gently interrupting Alois. Ciel glances up at the man, eyes narrowed. Alois looks at the two of them, suspicion obvious upon his features.

"Fine. Have fun fucking each other. It's not like I care." Alois grumbles, quickly stalking out of the room.

"I believe he has the wrong impression-" Sebastian starts, Ciel's voice quickly overriding his own.

"Of course he has the wrong impression! Do you-I... just forget what he said." Ciel commands, struggling to not blush. There's the distant sound of the door closing as Alois leaves but no one really pays attention to it. Ciel turns away from Sebastian and grabs another brownie, placing it on his plate again.

Sebastian remains silent and watches from the doorway.

"You know, it's very unnerving to have someone watch your every move." Ciel complains. He grabs his plate and glass from the counter but can't leave the room because Sebastian's blocking the doorway.

"Of course it is." Sebastian states. He steps closer to Ciel but away from the doorway so he can get through.

There's a slight predatory feel to Sebastian's movements and Ciel feels like prey, utterly at Sebastian's mercy. He looks up at Sebastian and falters, staring into Sebastian's red eyes. He wonders why they're colored that way, even in Sebastian's human form.

"Then please refrain from doing so. We'll speak after breakfast, Sebastian." Ciel finally says. Sebastian nods in acknowledgement and Ciel takes his small breakfast into the dining room. He sits down at the table and takes his time with the brownie, listening as Sebastian walks up the stairs.

Ciel places his dishes in the sink once he's done and then goes back up to his bedroom where he gets dressed before going into his study. The room is more suited to his tastes than the living room and besides, he likes sitting behind a desk when addressing anyone, including Sebastian.

On the way to the study, he'd called to Sebastian, who had followed him and was now sitting in a chair on the other side of Ciel's desk.

"I have a few questions about my original past that I'd like to clear up." Ciel says. As he's speaking, he turns on the computer resting on his desk.

"That is unsurprising. Proceed." Sebastian says lightly. Ciel doesn't like the way it sounds like Sebastian is ordering _him_ around for a change. He almost reprimands Sebastian before he realizes that the man isn't actually his servant despite how much he acts like it.

This makes Ciel pause for a moment because he realizes that he has little control over this man's actions.

"When I made the contract with you, what were the terms and the ultimate goal?" Ciel questions. He doesn't act like he's not in control, because he still is. Ciel Phantomhive is always in control, regardless of the situation.

"The terms were that I protect you, obey you unconditionally, and never lie to you nor betray you. The ultimate goal was that I help you find the murderers of your parents and assist you in avenging them." Sebastian replies. Ciel feels cold as the words leave Sebastian's lips.

"My lord... a question, if I may?" Sebastian requests.

"Proceed." Ciel dictates, hoping he sounds superior.

"How did your parents die in this life?" Sebastian asks. Ciel lets his eyes flicker back to the computer screen, opening his email.

"I'm afraid I'd rather not answer that. Please just look up their names on the internet. I'll allow you to use my phone if you wish... " Ciel trails off as he looks at an email that was just sent to him by someone labeled as 'Anonymous'.

"Young master?" Sebastian questions when Ciel remains quiet for a moment.

"I believe that I've just received some insight into my parent's murder." Ciel responds.

The insight turns out to be a very lengthy message explaining that the sender of the aforementioned message has a specific perspective on the subject of Vincent and Rachael's murders.

They were offering information but said that they couldn't leave their current location and required that Ciel come to them... in California. Beverly Hills to be more specific.

Ciel would've normally considered this a hoax, someone trying to lead him out and away from his current location, but they'd mentioned three things that only a close family friend would know.

The first thing was that Vincent Phantomhive had met Angeline Durless before Rachael Phantomhive. Angeline was Ciel's aunt who was currently residing in some area of France. The second thing was that their family dog had been named Sebastian. The third thing was that Ciel had a brand mark on his lower back.

Ciel could confirm all three of these things.

"Isn't it extremely suspicious? What if this is a mere deception?" Sebastian inquires.

"Of course it's suspicious; anything anonymous is suspicious. And I don't think it is a hoax. How would they know all of these facts about my parents before their death?" Ciel demands.

"I do not know. But how could they possibly know about the brand on your back unless they played a part in it?" Sebastian counters.

"I'll never know unless I visit them and find out. I have sufficient funds and school is a mere folly. I've already completed high school courses up to the twelfth grade. I'm merely going to school now as an act. So, there is no probable reason for me to not go." Ciel states simply.

He understands the reason for Sebastian's caution, but Ciel is not going to go in unarmed or without protection; he's no fool. "

Young master-" Sebastian still sounds disapproving, but Ciel is quick to interrupt him.

"Sebastian, it has been decided. I am going to California... and I must insist that you come with me."


	10. Chapter 10

Sebastian's eyes wander down to the young boy's face whose looking up at him.

Sebastian imagines not going for a moment, wondering if he would or could walk away from this boy, and then he smirks.  
Because that's not the real question. The real question is would he _let_ the boy walk away.  
Sebastian is very positive of the answer to that specific question.

"And why would I do that?" He inquires, sustaining eye contact with Ciel.

"You will offer sufficient protection and I will not be able to travel too far without an adult." Ciel sighs. He knows what the boy is really saying; he _needs_ Sebastian.

Sebastian wants to hear him say it, see the words fall from his lips.

"You could take Imogen." Sebastian murmurs, sounding pleased. Ciel glares at him, probably realizing that he's going to have to admit to the dependency he loathes.

"I could. However, Imogen irritates me and isn't the best of company. At least with you I could speak without having to dumb things down." Ciel replies.

"I suppose that is true. However, what could I possibly gain from a trip to America?" Sebastian questions. Ciel looks thoroughly miffed and Sebastian smirks at the charming expression on the child's small face.

"Have I not taught you how to coax me into things, little master?" Sebastian questions when it's obvious Ciel isn't going to respond unprompted. He tilts his head to the side in an enticing manner, the boy's eyes following his movements.

"Please." Ciel states, his voice unwavering and obviously not a question. Ciel Phantomhive won't beg but it still sounds impossibly sweet coming from this boy's mouth, the word quiet and obviously disgruntled.

"Of course." Sebastian says, smiling when Ciel's eyes widen. "Did you really think I wouldn't go with you?"

"Do you mean to say," Ciel begins slowly, his voice perilously low. "that you planned on going this entire time?" There's a violent edge to his voice and Sebastian wonders if the boy will hit him, hopes the boy will.

"Of course. I've vowed on the moon to protect you... I can't do that from England if you're over in California, living every American's wet dream." Sebastian replies. He isn't very fond of America but of course he's going to follow Ciel there. He'd follow the thin boy anywhere.

"Sebastian, do not do that again. I do not like to waste my breath and that conversation wouldn't have needed to happen if you would've just said yes as you intended to do this entire time." Ciel says. It's obvious he's holding back his anger and Sebastian's almost disappointed; he'd expected the boy to hit him.

"I wasn't positive from the start... I needed your voice to give me a reason to go." Sebastian murmurs, bending down on one knee so he's on the same level as Ciel. "I will go with you and vow to protect you throughout the course of your stay in Los Angeles."

The softening of the harshness in Ciel's eyes is almost imperceptible but Sebastian catches it.

"Good. I would be lying if I would say that having you along with me wouldn't be beneficial." Ciel remarks. Sebastian blinks at the compliment and stands, straightening his shoulders.

"Shall I prepare everything for the trip?" Sebastian inquires. Ciel glances at him, looking mildly surprised. The boy is evidently used to doing things on his own.

"That would be appreciated. You may pack your own bag as well as mine while I arrange for the tickets to be purchased." Ciel says. He turns his attention back to the computer and begins accessing his bank accounts, undoubtedly preparing money for their trip.

"Is there anything specific I need to pack?" Sebastian asks. He pauses for a moment, waiting for the child's answer.

"Besides my laptop and phone, I would like you to pack my pistol. It is currently underneath my bed. Please pack it for me." Ciel commands.  
Sebastian marvels at the way the boy can talk about guns as if they are as common to him as video games. It is too similar to the original Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian wonders if there is even a single difference between the two, besides the year and the lack of memories.

"Of course. Anything else?" Sebastian questions, pausing in the open doorway.

"Bring me a brownie when you are done packing." Ciel orders, thinking of sweets as per usual.

"As you wish." Sebastian replies, slipping out of the room.

He packs Ciel's things slowly and surely, making certain he packs enough outfits to last the child a few weeks at least. He smiles when he sees the boy's pants size, wondering how he can be so impossibly small.

The boy is small in every sense of the word, being short, thin, and a mere child.

_It's endearing, really._

Sebastian finishes packing Ciel's bag, making sure the safety is on on the small pistol, and doesn't bother bringing anything of his own. Sebastian will bring his newly purchased iPhone and the passports he'd purchased for himself and Ciel. That will be sufficient for himself.

He walks back downstairs to grab a brownie for Ciel only to find Imogen perched on the couch.

"You're still here?" She questions disdainfully.

"Yes." Sebastian replies, continuing on his path to the kitchen. Imogen is a mere nuisance in his way, not someone even worth a second glance.  
Sebastian grabs a brownie and places it on a plate.

"Can I ask you something?" Imogen questions. Sebastian was about to go upstairs but he pauses, deciding to humor the woman. He probably won't see her ever again after tomorrow.

"If you wish." Sebastian replies.

"What are you doing with Ciel? Are you another informant? Because when the last one tried turned out to be a spy and tried to-" Imogen starts to ask but Sebastian interrupts before she can finish.

"I'm not an informant on anything terribly important. I just have some information on Ciel's past. Don't worry; I only have his _best _interests at heart." Sebastian says, smiling down at the smaller woman. She blushes and Sebastian chuckles lightly, pleased that even this idiot of a woman isn't resilient to his demonic charm.

"That's good, I suppose." Imogen says. Sebastian wonders if he should just kill the woman and then take Ciel right now but then reminds himself to be patient. They'll be leaving for California tomorrow and he'll have Ciel all to himself. Ciel will be utterly dependent upon him in the foreign country.

Sebastian gives Imogen a wink and then moves upstairs, carrying Ciel's brownie.

"Your brownie." Sebastian acknowledges, placing the brownie on the desk beside Ciel's hand resting on the computer mouse.

"It's probably best that you told Imogen you're an informant. She won't be so suspicious about you staying here." Ciel says, picking up the brownie and biting into it. He doesn't even look away from the computer. Sebastian doesn't bother questioning how the boy heard their conversation.

"Do you have informants stay often?" Sebastian asks.

"Not for a few months. The last informant turned out to be a spy of some sort and attempted to kill me. I'd had to shoot him, unfortunately." Ciel replies. Sebastian smiles because he can just imagine the child, haughty and outraged, demanding to be unhanded, pointing a gun at some poor unfortunate fellow.

"Yes, extremely unfortunate." Sebastian concedes. "Your bags are packed."

"Very good. We'll be leaving tomorrow for a 6 P.M. flight and arriving at 4 A.M." Ciel murmurs, turning the computer off. He's already finished his brownie.

"Very well. Are we leaving from the Heathrow Airport?" Sebastian questions. It doesn't take his eyes a long time to adjust but he knows that Ciel can't see anything in the newfound darkness of the room, the light from the computer screen no longer illuminating everything.

"Yes. Virgin Airlines has a direct flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles. We'll go from there to a hotel until I decide if we will need to extend our stay." Ciel murmurs. His voice is quieter now in the darkness although his eyes have probably adjusted by now.

"Of course." Sebastian responds.

"I'd like to request that you don't mention this trip to any of your acquaintances or friends. I won't be mentioning this trip to anyone and I'd like for you to do the same." Ciel requests. Sebastian smiles when he thinks about the implications of that. No one will know where Ciel Phantomhive will be... Sebastian could certainly keep him then.

"As you wish." Sebastian replies. He doesn't have any friends to mention it to and acquaintances never approach him. He goes to take Ciel's plate back downstairs but is stopped by the young child's voice.

"Sebastian, I will be bathing tonight. Please... draw my bath." Ciel commands. Sebastian arches an eyebrow at the young child who rises from behind the desk slowly. He doesn't respond though, merely moves past Sebastian, his shoulder barely brushing against Sebastian's chest.

"Very well, little master." Sebastian replies, smirking to himself.

Sebastian may be a tame demon, at the moment, but Ciel is certainly an apathetic master. Then again, the boy has always had a certain air of sadness around him that he was never quite able to shake.

Sebastian draws the bath for Ciel but is still ordered to leave the room before the boy undresses.  
It's not too surprising; Ciel probably won't be that comfortable with Sebastian for a while.

It doesn't bother Sebastian in the slightest as he places a pair of pajamas out on the bed for Ciel after his shower.  
The boy has already admitted to needing Sebastian.

The thought alone makes Sebastian's mouth twitch with yet another smirk.


	11. Chapter 11

Ciel wakes up on Monday to Imogen's raised voice in the hallway.

"This is the normal time I wake him up! I don't understand why you want me to let him sleep!" Imogen yells at someone.

"That will not be necessary this morning." Sebastian murmurs. He sounds annoyed and Ciel smiles at the thought of the demon having to deal with Imogen. He wonders if Imogen would be yelling at Sebastian if she knew he was a demon.

Ciel groans as he climbs out of bed, walking over to the door and opening it.

"Imogen, be quiet; I was sleeping. Sebastian, you as well." Ciel dictates.

"Are you not going to school today?" Imogen questions.

"I'm afraid not. Now please, be quiet." Ciel commands. "Sebastian, wake me up at noon."

Ciel closes the door and slips back into bed. He lies there for at least twenty minutes before he realizes that he's not going to be able to fall back asleep. Instead, he pulls out his phone and does a quick attempt at trying to decode who the email was from.

Ciel is pretty good at hacking, especially on newer model computers and laptops, but the computer in his office is older therefore the IP address is older and Ciel can't manage to decode anything.

He grumbles to himself and feels around under his bed to double check and make sure that Sebastian really did pack his pistol. He must have because the pistol isn't underneath the bed.

Yesterday had been a bland affair; Ciel had spoken to Sebastian for a few moments, merely going over a few of the finer details of their trip. Today they'll be leaving for the Heathrow Airport in a few hours.

Ciel sends a few more emails to some of the foreign branches of his companies and also sends an email to the head of the meeting boards, explaining that he's going to be going away for an unspecified amount of time that will be no longer than a month. At least, Ciel hopes it will be no longer than a month. In reality, he has absolutely no idea. The response is almost immediate asking for specifics such as where is Ciel going, how can the meeting board contact him, etc. Ciel doesn't respond to the messages and instead moves across his room to the bookshelf.

He knows that packing books would be a waste of space and he probably won't have time to read, but one book won't hurt anyone. Ciel shoves a small paperback book that contains a few of Edgar Allen Poe's poems into his suitcase. He's been meaning to read them, specifically "The Raven" and maybe he'll get a chance to on this trip.

There's a knock on Ciel's door and then Sebastian walks in.

"It's noon." He says in response to Ciel's questioning gaze.

"Those few hours went by abnormally quick." Ciel comments. "Nevertheless, I'd like breakfast."

"What would you like?" Sebastian questions.

"I have a plan to execute so we'll eat out today." Ciel murmurs.

"I have no need to eat, my lord." Sebastian responds.

"No, I reckon you wouldn't. Well, please take my suitcase out to the chauffeur; he's been waiting outside since eleven-thirty. Try not to let Imogen see you." Ciel orders. Sebastian grabs Ciel's suitcase and carries it downstairs.

Ciel closes the door behind him and tugs his pajamas off, leaving them discarded on the floor. He slips into a pair of black jeans and a loose black crewneck. He also laces up a pair of black boots, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

Sebastian re-enters the room almost immediately, his pea coat on.

"My... black does suit you quite well." Sebastian murmurs, sounding pleased.

"Shut up." Ciel replies. He walks past Sebastian quickly so he won't notice the blush on the boy's cheeks. Sebastian follows Ciel.

"Imogen, we'll be going out for a bit. We'll be back around 6:30." Ciel lies, barely acknowledging the woman as he moves out of the room. Sebastian wonders if Ciel expects to ever see her again.

They climb into the black BMW and Ciel directs his chauffeur to the same internet café Sebastian had visited the other day.

"We'll waste some time there and go to another place if we have to." Ciel explains to Sebastian.

"Very well." Sebastian replies.

The internet café is relatively full, there only being a few computers open. This doesn't bother Ciel too much as he and Sebastian just sit at the same computer and pretend to look things up while Ciel eats a scone and drinks a cup of tea.

"My lord, may I ask a favor?" Sebastian questions. Ciel arches an eyebrow in response.

"I recently made a purchase of an iPhone 5 and I'm afraid I'm not quite sure how to use it seeing as how I've never necessarily felt the need for a phone this advanced." Sebastian responds.

Ciel laughs at him and then holds a hand out for the phone. He explains the phone to Sebastian, pointing out various features and how to use them, and then they leave the internet café and head out for the airport.

The long drive there is spent in silence with Ciel looking out the window at London, wondering how long he's going to have to spend in the dreadful California.

Hot weather doesn't really suit the boy and he'd rather make this a short trip. Sebastian is well aware of the fact that the boy plans on returning to London, however he doesn't plan on allowing that to happen.

The chauffeur drops them off at the airport, Ciel gives him an extra fifty pounds for waiting so long, and then they enter the large airport. It's very crowded and Ciel automatically drifts closer to the demon at his side.

Ciel has to take off his earrings to go through the metal detectors but other than that they run into no problems. They'll even get to take their bag with them on the plane seeing as how it's the only luggage they have. Once they're through the metal detectors Ciel has a questioning thought as to how they made it through with his pistol in tow, but he doesn't voice it so he won't jinx it.

"You didn't bring anything?" Ciel questions while they're standing in line.

"I brought our passports and my iPhone." Sebastian responds. Ciel appraises Sebastian with his eyes, sliding over the sensual features with a swift gaze.

"Very well. Let's get this over with." Ciel sighs, moving forward. Sebastian moves directly behind him. He presents their passports and pre-purchased tickets to a thin woman up front.

"Alright, you just need to go through gate X-C23." The woman replies with a smile, fluttering her eyelashes at Sebastian.

"Thank you." Ciel says in a cold voice, tugging on Sebastian's sleeve.

Sebastian turns away without a second glance at the woman and Ciel can't help but feel slightly victorious. Ciel has a certain power over Sebastian, a certain hold on him, and he can't help but relish in that power.

They follow the long gate outside and then board the plane they'll be riding in. They're flying coach at Sebastian's insistence that it would be far more unassuming to fly coach rather than first class.

Ciel isn't too fond of the idea but when he sits down he finds that it's not too different from first class. The only real difference is that the seats are closer together but Ciel is so small it isn't a problem for him. Sebastian, on the other hand, is quite tall and his knees are pressed against the back of the seat in front of him.

Ciel can't help but smile at the demon's slight discomfort.

"How long is this flight scheduled to be?" Sebastian questions. He doesn't sound too distressed but his discomfort is obvious.

"Around ten to eleven hours." Ciel replies.

"Very well." Sebastian responds. He's very good at covering up his emotions but Ciel can catch the displeasure in his voice.

"Eh. I assume it's going to be a long flight." Ciel says, doing his best to sound demure.

The flight does end up being tortorously long as Ciel soon realizes two hours into the flight.

He's unable to get up for the first two hours and then once they're free to roam around the cabin, Ciel goes to the bathroom once an hour as an excuse to do something.

Cell phones aren't allowed on and Ciel isn't going to risk a plane crash just to play a game on his phone. Sebastian looks as uncomfortable as ever but he doesn't get up once, opting to stay in his seat.

"You know, if you weren't so tall you wouldn't be having a problem now." Ciel mutters darkly when Sebastian shifts again.

"I did not choose my own height, little master." Sebastian responds.

"I suppose not." Ciel says. He stretches his legs out in front of him before crossing them. After a moment he uncrosses them before repeating the process.

"Oi! Stop movin' around back there." The man in front of Ciel calls. Ciel opens his mouth to retaliate and demand that the man apologize but Sebastian puts a cautioning hand on his knee.

"Don't antagonize anyone. We don't need idiots causing a scene." He whispers. Sebastian's leaning in close to Ciel and the close proximity doesn't bother him, which is surprising seeing as how he normally loathes physical contact.

"I imagine you are correct." Ciel sighs. He relaxes back into his seat and Sebastian does the same, removing his hand from his young master's knee.

Ciel wonders if he should be worried that he's so comfortable with a demon.

He turns over so he's facing away from Sebastian, looking out the window, and stares at the night sky.

It's vastly dark and he can't really make out much except for the city lights far, far below. He doesn't close the window flap before he falls asleep, Sebastian behind him and the fathomless darkness of the night sky in front of him.


	12. Chapter 12

Ciel spends most of the remaining hours of the flight dreaming or remembering, maybe.

He dreams of Sebastian handing him a large blue ring. In the dream, Ciel was surprised to have the ring back. He remembers being chagrined at Sebastian calling him a fool and it being late at night, Ciel ready for bed.

Ciel's jolted awake by the plane landing and he blinks up at Sebastian confusedly, still caught somewhere in between his dream and reality.

"We're landing, little master." Sebastian says in response to Ciel's sleepy gaze.  
The boy rubs his eyes and shifts slightly, arching in an attempt to ease some of the pain in his lower back.

"Would you like a massage, my lord?" Sebastian inquires. He doesn't sound like he's insinuating anything but Ciel reacts as if he is.

"Absolutely not!" Ciel responds. After a moment, he decides that maybe a massage wouldn't be so terrible.

"At least, not now." He amends.

"Understood." Sebastian responds.

The plane lands without a hitch although Ciel does feel a certain amount of pressure against his body when landing. It's an uncomfortable feeling and he's very pleased when the stewardess announces that they have arrived in Los Angeles.

Sebastian is quick to stand and he moves out of the way so Ciel can get off the plane first.

Sebastian carries Ciel's bag while they walk down the stairs, through the entrance gate and then into the actual airport.  
It's just as crowded and as noisy as the Heathrow airport and Ciel finds himself drifting closer to Sebastian again.

"I have a taxi arranged for us out front under the alias of 'Winster'." Ciel murmurs to Sebastian, who has to bend down so he can hear the small boy.

There's a man holding a small white sign that reads 'WINSTER' on it in neat black letters. Ciel's surprised because he previously assumed that that didn't happen in real life, only in far-fetched spy movies.

Ciel and Sebastian follow the man holding the sign outside of the airport where he leads them to a yellow taxi.  
Ciel has enough time to take stock of a few of their surroundings, noticing mainly the palm trees and the unbearable heat.  
It's four in the morning and Ciel's sweating horribly in his all black outfit.

"Sebastian, it's insufferably hot." Ciel complains.

"I concur with you, my lord. I did not pack any kind of lighter clothes however, so in my case, it cannot be helped. I believe I packed _you_ a lighter outfit you could change into." Sebastian responds.

"Change? In the back of this taxi? Absolutely not." Ciel snaps. He lets the air from the window blow against his skin and thinks cool thoughts.

"Why is it so hot at four in the morning?" He demands.

"Los Angeles' humidity is very low, young master. Therefore-" Sebastian's voice is quickly overridden.

"Forget it, Sebastian. I do not want a lesson on the climate of Los Angeles." Ciel interrupts. He knows he's being a brat but he isn't very fond of high temperatures nor is he too fond of not knowing something.

The taxi takes them to Westin Hotel and drops them off outside of the enormous building.

"We're in room 543." Sebastian says. Ciel had ordered Sebastian to take care of the hotel reservations, requesting that he book a nice hotel.

Sebastian had certainly done just that but Ciel keeps his praise to himself, eyeing the large building as they enter it.  
It has a certain regal feel to it that feeds Ciel's own arrogance. Ciel stands slightly away from Sebastian while he goes up to the front desk and gets the key cards to their room.

Sebastian hands one keycard to Ciel and uses his own to open the door after they'd ridden the elevator up to the proper floor.

The room is of a decent size and dark as they enter it. Sebastian had requested that they buy an average room instead of a presidential suite so they wouldn't draw suspicion to themselves.

"Leave the lights off." Ciel commands. He automatically falls on the bed and tugs off his boots and then his thick crewneck.  
He walks over to the air-conditioner and turns it on, standing in front of it for a moment. Then he turns around and collapses on the bed.

"Wait. Sebastian, why is there only one bed?" Ciel demands. "Surely you don't expect-"

"I don't require sleep, little master." Sebastian replies.

"You idiot!" Ciel insults, sliding off of the bed and standing in front of the demon in one fluid movement. "You've been preaching this whole time about how we have to stay under the radar and then you go and book a room with one bed for two people. And isn't our cover story that we're related in some way? Why would we possibly be sharing a bed?"

Ciel's almost yelling by this point.

The heat's aggravated him beyond measure and he feels unnatural in his own skin, too hot and tired but not tired. He feels very contradictory and isn't really yelling at Sebastian because he's mad; he's yelling at him because he feels sick and he wants Sebastian to do something about it.

"My lord are you alright? You look rather flushed." Sebastian says. He's obviously going to ignore Ciel's outburst and Ciel's confused as to why Sebastian didn't yell back, didn't hit Ciel. He's almost positive that anyone else would have.

Sebastian steps closer to Ciel and places a palm over the side of Ciel's neck at the place where neck and shoulder meet. Ciel's intensely aware of the way Sebastian's hand swallows a large portion of his collarbone and how cool Sebastian's palm feels against his erratic pulse.

"I believe you have a fever. Perhaps a bath will cool you down." Sebastian offers. Ciel nods weakly and allows himself to sit back on the bed while Sebastian enters the small bathroom.

Ciel's still pondering over why Sebastian didn't hit him or yell at him.

Despite _wanting_ Sebastian to help him, Ciel was almost positive that the demon wouldn't.  
He isn't used to dealing with people who actually make an effort to take care of him. He hasn't dealt with anyone like that since his parents' deaths.

"My lord, the bath is ready." Sebastian calls from the bathroom. Ciel can still hear the water running so the tub mustn't be full yet.  
Ciel tugs off the remainder of his clothes and enters the bathroom slowly.

The room he'd just left had been dark and the bathroom is full of light so he has to give his eyes a moment to adjust before he enters the room.  
Sebastian's eyes widen slightly when he sees Ciel's state of complete undress but he doesn't say anything as the boy climbs into the bathtub.

"Sebastian. I believe that the reason nobles were bathed and dressed by someone else in the past was because it was considered too mundane a task for them to complete; it was considered a task below them, am I correct?" Ciel questions, catching the tall man off guard.

"Yes, that is correct." Sebastian replies.

"It was something that only ordinary people should have to perform themselves, correct?" Ciel asks, pulling his knees up to his chest. The water makes a quite noise as he shifts in the tub.

"Yes." Sebastian repeats. He's already following the boy's line of thinking but it surprises him nonetheless.

"Very well. Seeing as how I am of high status and would like to consider myself far above mundane tasks, you may bathe and dress me from here on out." Ciel commands.

The tub is full now and Sebastian shuts the water off, taking in the way Ciel's knobby knees stick up out of the water. He wants to question the child's reasoning a little more but his cheeks do look flushed.

He might even be sicker than Sebastian had previously assumed so he responds with the one thing he knows Ciel will be pleased with.

**"Yes, my lord."**


	13. Chapter 13

Ciel groans and kicks at the comforter currently tangled around his legs.

Smooth hands are suddenly helping him, brushing against his calf, shin, and thigh as Ciel's legs are finally free.

Ciel opens his eyes and looks up at Sebastian, who's finally situated the blanket.

"What's the time?" Ciel demands. His voice sounds hoarse and he automatically wants some water.

"It's around eleven-thirty." Sebastian responds. He hands Ciel a water bottle from the mini-fridge and he absentmindedly wonders how Sebastian is so in tune with his needs.

"Give me my phone." Ciel orders, taking a drink from the water bottle. Sebastian places the phone in Ciel's hand and he's quick to access his email. Now that he's here in California, Ciel has to message the informant of sorts and tell them that he's here and prepared to meet.

Ciel tosses his phone at the foot of the bed and stretches, arms above head, the pain in his shoulders and back still refusing to ease from the long flight.

"Sebastian, order room service for me. I'd like breakfast." Ciel says. He stands up and walks over to the covered window, pushing the curtain open a crack so he can look out the window. He can hear Sebastian's voice as he orders something for Ciel, the boy gazing down at the scene far below him.

Now that's it daylight Ciel can see many more intriguing things, such as the crowded highways, unfamiliar buildings, and the large amount of people scuttling about far below. They're all wearing tank tops and shorts and Ciel grimaces in response to their bad taste of attire.

Ciel closes the curtain and walks back over to the bed. He sits down at the foot of the bed and turns the television on, leaving it on the news. There's a knock at the door and Ciel shifts the blankets so whoever it is won't see his bare thighs.

A large red-headed man with a beard rolls in a cart and leaves with a slight smile. He seems confused as to why there's only one bed and Ciel gives Sebastian a pointed look. Breakfast turns out to be a type of fruit salad with English muffins on the side and Ciel can't help but notice that this is much healthier than what he's used to eating.

"Are you feeling better today, my lord?" Sebastian questions.

"Quite. I apologize if my behavior last night was... odd." Ciel mutters. He doesn't like admitting that he was sick last night but the temperature had obviously affected him.

"It's certainly excusable. You are an extremely delicate creature; I'm not surprised that the weather had such an effect on you." Sebastian says. Ciel stabs his fork a little more viciously into his fruit at the word 'delicate' but other than that remains stoic.

His phone goes off as soon as he's done eating and he grabs it quickly, reading the anonymous senders reply.

"I'm to meet the informant at the corner of a street called Sunset Boulevard, near a pay phone booth in one hour." Ciel tells Sebastian, moving from the bed.

"Well, we'd best hurry." Sebastian replies.

They take a taxi to the meeting place on Sunset Boulevard because they have no other choice.

Sebastian gets out a block away from where Ciel will meet the anonymous informant but he insures the boy that he will have caught up with them and be hiding safely by.

"You'd better be." Ciel responds. He's not looking at Sebastian, his face turned straight ahead, but Sebastian can't see the child's eyes due to the sunglasses he's wearing. Sebastian disappears and after a moment the taxi moves back down the street, pausing once they reach the intersection on Sunset Boulevard and Silver Lake.

Ciel pays the man in the front of the taxi with the American dollars he'd had some of his money converted to. He exits the cab and automatically walks down Sunset Boulevard, weaving through the throng of people with ease.

He spots the payphone immediately, a black and marked up box with a phonebook attached to the inside.

Ciel walks over to the payphone, leaning against it casually. He takes his surroundings in slowly, as if he has the time to look around. There's a small alleyway directly across from the payphone and for some reason Ciel thinks that's where Sebastian is. He has no proof of that however and he almost starts into the alley when a man touches his sleeve.

"Unhand-"

"Sh. It's me. Your informant." The man whispers. Ciel looks up at him but he's wearing sunglasses that swallow his face, revealing very little to Ciel.

"Are we going to talk here?" Ciel questions.

"No, we're going to talk in that café right there." The man points, gesturing towards a coffee shop directly across the street. Ciel nods and leads the way but he does throw a glance at the place he thinks Sebastian's hiding. He wonders if Sebastian will actually protect him or if this is some kind of elaborate set-up to get him killed.

_Of course not. Sebastian wouldn't have taken care of you last night if he wanted you dead_, Ciel reminds himself.

The man follows Ciel to the little café, looking extremely informal and relaxed. He has black hair that's slightly longer than Sebastian's and arranged in a messy disarray. Ciel sits down at a small table against the window and relatively close to the door.

"You may begin." Ciel commands when the man across from him doesn't say anything.

"Right, yes. Well, you see I knew your parents back when you were younger through a mutual connection. When I heard about their death I wasn't suspicious of the guy that was actually friends with your parents until he spoke to me a few days later, sounding completely at ease. That's not too abnormal but this guy is normally so melodramatic. He-"

"Spare me the long story. I just want you to state the necessary facts. For starters, the man's name would be greatly appreciated." Ciel grumbles. He's starting to worry that he came all the way to California for nothing.

"His name's Chambers. Alaster or something like that." The man says.

"Thank you. I believe his name is Aleister Chambers. I am aware that this man was indeed a family friend... of sorts." Ciel replies. Vincent hadn't wanted much to do with Aleister when he'd found out that he'd been dealing in human trafficking.

"Well you see... I think he's connected to your parent's murder in some way. He's dropped hints often enough about things similar enough and has been acting suspicious ever since." The man says.

"Alright, is that all you expect me to go on?" Ciel demands.

"No. Chambers is having a party in two days and I can't go to his party when I'm so suspicious of the guy, y'know? I thought you could use my invitation to get into the party if you wanted to investigate him or something." The man's sunglasses cover his face and Ciel can't make out his expression. He hands an invitation to Ciel and Ciel grabs it and shoves it into his jacket.

"Is that all?" Ciel questions.

"I just thought I should tell you if you're planning on returning to London soon, you'd be better be very careful. I've heard things... there are some people after you." The man murmurs. He doesn't sound worried.

"I'm afraid I won't be returning to London for quite some time." Ciel replies. He glances out the corner of his eye to look out the window, wondering where he's going to meet Sebastian.

"Well that might be for the best." The man says.

"Very well. I believe this meeting is over?" Ciel questions, poised to leave. The man nods in response.

"Your information was greatly appreciated. I'll keep this in mind in the future." Ciel says. He doesn't smile at the man or even look at him as he leaves.

He isn't really sure where to meet Sebastian but he doesn't want the informant to see him looking lost. Ciel merely turns right and continues walking down the street, patiently waiting and expecting Sebastian to join him.

The demon doesn't disappoint.

"Well, I see you're in one piece." Sebastian says, exiting a small book store and falling into step with Ciel.

"Yes. I have information and an invitation." Ceil replies. He quickly fills Sebastian in on Aleister and his party that'll be occurring in a few days.

"I remember the man vaguely from my childhood. He was a family acquaintance. He would've became a friend if my father hadn't heard of his human trafficking habits." Ciel mutters. Sebastian hails a taxi and Ciel climbs inside first, Sebastian following.

"You speak as if your childhood is already over." Sebastian says.

"It is." Ciel intones. He's back to his usual state of boredom and apathy, staring out the window at all of the strangely-dressed people. Ciel was impeccably dressed as always and he looks like he came directly out of a spy movie, a tan trench coat hugging his slender frame.

The air-conditioning is turned up so high that Ciel's not even complaining

"Sebastian, I want you to prepare an outfit for myself as well as you for Aleister's party." Ciel commands.

"We'll be attending?" Sebastian questions.

"Isn't that question rather redundant?" Ciel returns. Sebastian doesn't attempt to speak to Ciel again until they're back in the hotel.

Ciel would like to say that he doesn't mind but in reality he does mind. Even though he's not in the best of moods, he'd still like to speak to Sebastian, even if it's just to yell at him.

"Sebastian." Ciel murmurs, grabbing the man's wrist when he moves to unlock the door to their hotel room. Sebastian turns to look at the boy, arching an elegant eyebrow.

"I appreciate you coming with me." Ciel says. He doesn't meet Sebastian's gaze but can feel the demon's eyes tracing his features. Sebastian doesn't respond; he simply holds the door open for Ciel.

Ciel spends the remainder of the day in the hotel while Sebastian had went out to buy their outfits for Chambers' party.

Sebastian ensures that the boy knows his cell phone number and knows where the pistol is before he leaves him alone. Ciel isn't nearly as worried about being alone.

He gets his laptop out and searches up Aleister Chambers, familiarizing himself with the man he indistinctly remembers.

It's obvious that the man is somewhat of a pedophile, picking up young girls and even a few boys, offering them fame in return for sexual favors. Aleister is a movie director and offers the children roles in his movies if they'll just spend the night with him.

It utterly disgusts Ciel but also helps him form a plan that will surely lead to the downfall of Aleister.

He lays around for a little bit longer until he falls asleep, waiting for Sebastian to return.


	14. Chapter 14

Ciel jerks awake, sitting up straight as his eyes fly open.

The lights are out and the curtains are shut but the alarm clock says it's 11:34 A.M. Ciel can barely make out the paleness of Sebastian's skin over in the armchair but when he turns the lamp on he can see the man, looking amused as per usual.

"When did you get back?" Ciel questions, climbing out of bed and taking a water from the mini-fridge.

"Around ten-thirty last night." Sebastian replies. Ciel takes a drink before responding.

"I assume you bought our outfits for the party tomorrow, correct?" Ciel questions.

"Yes, I went around to multiple stores before I found two outfits I thought suitable." Sebastian responds. Ciel nods and then gets back on the bed.

"Very well. After breakfast I'll try mine on to make sure it fits." Ciel says. He turns on the news and Sebastian grabs the hotel phone to dial room service.

When Ciel checks his phone he finds that he has a few texts from Lizzy and Alois which he promptly ignores. He'll respond to them once he's on his way home. He doesn't want anyone to know where he is, not even those two.

The large bearded man from yesterday brings in Ciel's food again, this time scrambled eggs and toast with jelly.

Ciel eats his breakfast and then slides off the bed, walking over to the garment bags hanging on the back of the bathroom door. He grabs the one on top and unzips it, finding a tuxedo in Sebastian's size. He moves that bag out of the way and uzips the other, pulling out a dress.

"Sebastian. What is the meaning of this?" Ciel demands, holding the dress out to Sebastian.

"Why, it's your outfit for Chambers' party, my little lord." Sebastian replies.

"Don't "little lord" me. I don't go around wearing dresses so why would you think I'd wear one to this party?" Ciel questions, his voice fierce.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Aleister was a family acquaintance of yours. I'm sure he'd recognize you, at least as a boy. Besides, it is common knowledge that Aleister is often dealing in human trafficking, specifically with young girls your age. He'll be more tempted to approach you if you're dressed as a girl." Sebastian says.

It's ridiculous that Ciel's going to have to repeat this cross dressing process, even in his reincarnated state, but Sebastian decides that it's not entirely a waste; Ciel made a quite lovely little mistress.

"So, you're saying I have to dress as a girl?" Ciel asks. His voice has lost its outrage and haughtiness because he realizes what Sebastian's saying is true; Chambers will probably be more comfortable approaching him as a girl rather than a boy. Even though Chambers has allowed a few boys to be in his movies, he obviously has a preference for girls.

"Yes." Sebastian responds. Ciel glances down at the dress and recognizes that he doesn't necessarily _have_ to dress up as a girl, however it would certainly be more beneficial for him.

"Sebastian, help me get into this." Ciel commands.

"Of course." Sebastian automatically responds. He grabs a small bag from the spare armchair in the room and pulls out a bra and a pair of panties.

"I'm hoping for your sake that you aren't expecting me to wear _those_." Ciel says, pointing at the items Sebastian's strewn across the bed.

"Little master, you have to realize that because you are pretending to be a girl you must wear the items a female would wear." Sebastian responds. Ciel huffs but decides that it will probably help him pull off the charade better.

"Fine. You'll just have to help me because I have no idea how to work those contraptions." Ciel grumbles, taking off the long shirt he'd been sleeping in and then stepping out of his underwear. Sebastian is fastidious in dressing him, helping him step into the panties and then helping him slide the bra on.

"I don't like this. The underwear are too tight; it's uncomfortable." Ciel complains. Just the idea of wearing a dress makes him feel uneasy and embarrassed.

"You'll soon adjust." Sebastian says. He removes the dress from the hanger and unzips it, guiding Ciel into the dress. The zipper goes all the way down to Ciel's tailbone, revealing an enormous amount of that porcelain skin that Sebastian hasn't seen- at least not in this reincarnated form.

He can see the brand on his little master's back and it's different from the brand that marked the original Ciel Phantomhive. This one is darker and looks even neater than the original; Sebastian wants to wipe the mark from his master's existence, to remove the harsh memories that accompany it.

"Don't stand there and gawk; zip the dress." Ciel commands. Sebastian's zips the dress up slowly, laughing when Ciel shudders.

Sebastian glances in the mirror and he's surprised at how the outfit seems to highlight his master's effeminate features.

The boy's always had features similar to that of the fairer gender but now he looks more delicate than Sebastian's ever seen him in _this_ life.

The dress is sleeveless and plain black from the waist up, form-fitting enough that the bra was necessary, but from the waist down there's a lace that rests on top of the black fabric. The lace only stands out because it's slightly longer than the black fabric and the lace looks sensual against Ciel's thin thighs.

The boy looks at his own reflection for a moment and then crosses his arms. Ciel doesn't like the straps of the dress; they remind him too much of the tank tops that he's never been fond of.

"Well?" Ciel demands, turning to look at Sebastian.

"Are you asking for my opinion?" Sebastian returns.

"Obviously." The boy replies. Sebastian toys with the idea of telling the boy what he _really_ thinks of the dress but then decides against it.

"It certainly seems to be loose enough to cover everything that needs to be hidden." Sebastian says, getting nothing but a dry glare from Ciel. However, the demon's statement is true; the dark color of the dress hides the shape of the bra and the lace overlay makes the dress far looser from the waist down, revealing little of Ciel's extremely slight boyish shape.

"Yes, but does it look good?" Ciel demands. He turns sideways and looks at himself in the mirror.

Ciel is so small, especially compared to Sebastian, and he looks even thinner in this dress, the black contrasting beautifully against his pale skin.

"It's wonderful, my lord. The only problem is that it seems to be a little short." Sebastian responds.

"Is that really a problem?" Ciel demands. "I am attempting to entice a man."

"Very true, but you don't want to be too easily accessible. Perhaps you should wear pantyhose or thigh highs." Sebastain offers.

"No pantyhose. That's where I draw the line. Thigh highs will be sufficient." Ciel snaps. He feels like Sebastian is teasing him and the demon is, to an extent.

"Well, today we'll have to go out and purchase your thigh highs along with the hair extensions I ordered." Sebastian says.

"Hair extensions?" Ciel demands. He's not even outraged anymore, simply aggravated.

"Yes. Of course your short hairstyle is too similar to how you wear it now, as a boy. I stopped by a hair salon yesterday and ordered hair extensions that will match your hair perfectly." Sebastian elaborates.

"Of course you did. Very well, help me change and then we'll go pick up the necessary requirements." Ciel orders.

"My lord, perhaps-"

"Sebastian, I don't wish to hear insignificant ideas at the moment. Just help me change." Ciel commands. Sebastian sighs at his master's sour mood but decides that he'll have to buy the brat some kind of sweets if he wants him to be in a tolerable mood the rest of the night.

When Sebastian doesn't move to unzip Ciel's dress right away, the boy turns around to glare at the older male but is surprised to see him looking at his phone, brow furrowed.

"What are you looking at?" Ciel demands.

"Nothing of importance. Now, let's get you out of that dress." Sebastian responds. He quickly changes Ciel back into his regular attire and then they leave, slipping out of their hotel room to head off and get the supplies for Chambers' highly anticipated party.

They stop at a local mall and buy thigh highs first before going to the beauty parlor Sebastian had visited yesterday and picking up the hair extensions. Ciel automatically doesn't like the owner of the beauty shop due to the fact that she practically hangs off Sebastian the moment he enters the store.

It's not that he's being possessive, it's just... Sebastian's _his_. As contradictory as that sounds, they have a special bond. The demon went to the trouble of finding him once he'd been reincarnated and that shouldn't be messed with, shouldn't be threatened.

Besides, desperate women that hang off men like that are part of the reason that the female gender faces such difficulties.

Ciel relaxes considerably once they leave the hair salon and Sebastian's even kind enough to buy him a cookie on their way back to the hotel.

They stand under a little awning while Ciel eats the cookie, still warm from the oven, and he glances up at Sebastian.

"Sebastian, how long do you plan on staying with me?" Ciel questions.

"Just for the duration of your stay in Los Angeles. I do not wish to go back to London." Sebastian lies. Of course he's not leaving this... precious boy. However, the brat doesn't need to know that.

Ciel nods and tries not to appear surprised or even worse-hurt-as he looks at Sebastian.

"Very well, let's go back to the hotel. I'll bathe tonight and you must wake me early tomorrow so we can apply the extensions and then drive all the way out to Chambers' mansion. Do you think you manage?" Ciel demands.

"Of course, my lord. If I couldn't do as much, what kind of butler would I be?" Sebastian questions.

Ciel tsks in response and leads the way back to the hotel.


	15. Chapter 15

Putting the hair extensions in the next morning proves to be tortorous, Ciel complaining the entire time and jerking out of Sebastian's grasp when it pulls on his hair. Ciel had slipped the dress on once he'd finished breakfast so he wouldn't have to slide it on over the hair extensions.

Now, Sebastian slides the thigh highs up the boy's legs.

Ciel squirms when Sebastian's fingers graze his thigh, finding the skin sensitive. Sebastian tries not to dwell on that thought for too long.

He changes into his tuxedo once Ciel's finished getting dressed and then helps the boy into his kitten heels, smiling at both the boy and the term for the shoes.

_How befitting that this kitten of a boy will be wearing kitten heels._

"These are quite idiotic." Ciel grumbles. He glances in the mirror for a moment before turning to look at Sebastian.

"Yes, but they do make you slightly taller which is something I thought you'd appreciate." Sebastian says. He sounds immensely pleased at the image of Ciel before him and Ciel can't help but glare at the demon, even though this whole cross dressing thing isn't necessarily his fault, just his suggestion.

"Shut up. Grab our phones; we're leaving." Ciel orders. Sebastian laughs and hands Ciel both of their phones, holding the door open for his little mistress.

Neither one of them bothers to turn the TV off nor do they notice the headline of the news: "Head of Funtom Co. Missing, Possible Child Abduction."

Ciel moves swiftly down the stairs, the hair extensions blowing back slightly and giving the perfect illusion of long hair.

It's interesting to watch the boy move, his bones shifting beneath his skin. Sebastian can see the fragile curve of his shoulder and the sharp angle of his collarbones as he gets into the passenger seat of the car Sebastian had taken the liberty of renting.

He absentmindedly wonders how hard it would be to break them, how hard he'd have to push Ciel until he snapped. It's fascinating for some reason and Sebastian glances over multiple times during the long car ride when Ciel reaches down to fix the strap of his heel, when Ciel flips down the visor to check the lip gloss he'd previously applied...

"Review the plan with me so I'm certain that you understand." Ciel orders.

"We will enter Chambers' mansion. Once you approach him, I am to leave your side so he won't feel threatened by the presence of another man while you two converse. You are to convince him to take you upstairs, away from all the noise, and are then going to attempt to keep him at bay while I scour the house for information. I am to find something within the duration of twenty minutes and then I must find you." Sebastian says.

"Correct. If you find absolutely nothing within twenty minutes, you will be allotted an extra five minutes to find _something_. However, no longer than 25 minutes total; I do not want to be alone with that man for any longer than necessary." Ciel says.

The thought of being anywhere near Chambers makes him feel sick but he has no choice; no one else can do this. Sebastian, having quite the feminine face, does not have quite as feminine a body and therefore could never pull off cross dressing.

"Do not fret, my lord. I will not leave you alone with him for any longer than necessary." Sebastian says.

"Good." Ciel returns. They arrive at Aleister's extravagant mansion shortly thereafter.

The enormous front gate is open invitingly, so Sebastian parks the car across the street and climbs out, opening the door for Ciel. They walk up to the entrance together, Ciel carrying the invitation in his hands. Sebastian glances down at the slender boy and smiles when Ciel looks up at him from underneath his lashes.

"What are you smiling about?" The boy demands, holding the invitation out to a man who must be the bouncer. The man waves them through.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that you'll be quite the temptress for Chambers." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel opens his mouth to respond but immediately cuts off when he sees Chambers.

"There he is." Ciel says. Aleister is standing near a table covered with h'orderves and laughing at something a tall brunette had just whispered to him.

"I'm going to approach him. Sebastian, remember the plan." Ciel commands and just like that he's gone, walking across the room directly towards Chambers. Sebastian watches them for a moment before he moves off deeper into the mansion.

Ciel feels incredibly uncomfortable the moment he approaches Chambers. Once the man sees Ciel, he automatically moves forward, stepping even closer to Ciel without waiting for an introduction.

"What's your name, my dear?" He questions, his voice a gentle murmur.

"Robin." Ciel replies. He and Sebastian had decided that it wouldn't be good to give out his real name and Sebastian had suggested Robin with a coy smile.

"Well, little Robin... are you enjoying the party?" Chambers questions.

"It's quite a lovely party but I've heard some rumors... " Ciel trails off, wanting to come across as hesitant.

"Rumors can be very nasty things." Chambers warns.

"These aren't nasty at all. I've just heard that you let girls audition to be in your movies and I was wondering if I could." Ciel explains, smiling up innocently at Aleister.

"Of course! An adorable girl like you is made for the big screen. Would you like to audition now?" Chambers inquires and the eagerness in his voice makes Ciel sick.

"I'd love to." Ciel says, smiling brightly.

"Great! Just come with me... "

Sebastian goes upstairs as soon as he can, slipping past Chambers who's conversing with Ciel and looking enthralled.

Ciel looks adorable but Sebastian can tell by his clenched fist that he's not enjoying himself. Sebastian keeps this in mind and uses it as an incentive to hurry as he begins searching through Aleister's mansion.

He starts by going through the bedrooms, completing a thorough search of two bedrooms in five minutes. He doesn't find any damning evidence of Chambers' trafficking habits so he moves on to the next room which turns out to be a computer room of sorts.

There's a laptop sitting on a desk in the corner and a flat screen mounted on the wall, a long black leather couch against the opposite wall and a bookshelf filled with what appears to be hundreds of movies. Sebastian goes over to the computer and hacks into it after a few moments, finding Aleister's password to be 'blue lobster'.

He starts by going through the man's folders but then decides to go straight to his hard drive, scrolling through the lengthy list of software, databases, and downloading encryptions. Sebastian finds absolutely nothing after going through the list for 10 minutes.

He now only has 10 minutes left along with the additional 5 minutes that he isn't planning on using. He doesn't want that man anywhere near Ciel for any extended amount of time.

Sebastian moves to leave the room and accidentally knocks a DVD off of the small bookshelf. The DVD makes a rattling noise inside the box so Sebastian bends down, picks it up, and opens the case to place the DVD back in its proper holder.

The box says 'Aladdin' but the disk is a blank, "Ayuma's Audition" written on it in black sharpie. Sebastian decides to watch it, just to be sure, because he has no other avenues to pursue.

There's no record of Chambers making lurid videos and Sebastian hadn't expected to find any but the video is just as damning as any other evidence he could've dug up.

It depicts a young Japanese girl, presumably Ayuma, who starts out acting frightened and then happy, all at Chambers' command. He then tells her to act seductive and that is when she first falters. Sebastian fast forwards the rest of the video, sighing when Chambers comes on the camera and begins to undress the girl.

"Really now, some of you humans are just so detestable." Sebastian grumbles. He takes the disk out and places it back in the box. He walks back over to the DVDs and opens up more and more of the cases. They all contain blank discs labeled in black sharpie, all entitled as someone's audition.

Sebastian tugs on the cuffs of his tuxedo and leaves the bedroom to ensure that Ciel doesn't have an 'audition'.

"I'll give you some lines to start out with, alright?" Chambers offers. Ciel nods eagerly and repeats the lines Aleister gives him. He looks directly in the camera and tries to do his best to sound, happy, sad, angry, frightened...

"Very good. You're an absolute natural." Chambers compliments. Ciel looks down, pretending to be bashful.

"Now, it's very hard for young girls like you to make it in the acting world, what with adults always trying to steal the spotlight... perhaps you should try to act out a more adult emotion, hm?" A feeling of dread fills Ciel as soon as Chambers' utters those words because he knows what's coming.

He has no idea how much time Sebastian has left but it _feels_ like he should be here by now.

"Sure but can I have a drink first?" Ciel questions, gesturing towards the mini bar in the corner of the room.

"Of course, little Robin. Would you like some Vodka or something a little lighter... I do believe I have Coke." Chambers murmurs, sitting the camera down on the tripod and walking over to the minibar.

"Coke." Ciel responds automatically. He's not fond of soda but isn't about to drink alcohol and risk dulling his senses around this man; he needs to be on guard.

Ciel watches carefully as Chambers pours his drink and is satisfied when he finds that Chambers didn't add anything to it.

"Thank you." Ciel says, taking a big gulp of the drink and wincing when the soda bubbles in his nose.

"Now, as for an adult emotion you could try seductive." Chambers says offhandedly, as if it's an option... maybe it is.

Ciel feels odd so he sets his drink down on an end table and moves over to the wall, leaning against it. He can hear the music from downstairs all the way up here and he almost wants to dance, wants to move.

Ciel tilts his head towards the camera, giving an alluring gaze towards Chambers. Ciel can hear the man's indrawn breath, as if he hadn't expected Ciel to comply.

"You drugged me." Ciel says, licking his lips.

"I did. If you'd picked alcohol I wouldn't have. However, all of you kids seems to love Coke and I'm not too fond of it so I just have it laced with MDMA beforehand." Chambers replies.

"Ecstasy leads to... pupil dilation and enhanced... tactile sensations... " Ciel sighs, forgetting what he was talking about.

"You should probably lay down." Chambers says and Ciel pushes off the wall and then sinks down onto the bed.

The sheets are a violet silk and Ciel falls back against them, the smoothness of the fabric feeling nice against the bare skin of his arms. Ciel's aware that his dress has fallen up on one side, revealing the skin of his upper thigh, but he doesn't feel like reaching down to fix it. He hears Chambers walk over, camera in tow, and then feels his hand on his thigh, tracing around the top of the thigh high Ciel's wearing.

"You're quite the temptress, you know?" Chambers murmurs. Ciel doesn't push his hand away because everything's hazy and wonderful, besides... it doesn't feel that bad.

"Sebastian said that too... do you think he meant it?" Ciel questions. Aleister moves his hand away from Ciel's thigh up to his mouth.

"Who's Sebastian?" Chambers asks, tracing Ciel's upper lip with his thumb. Aleister suddenly makes a noise of surprise and collapses on the floor beside the bed, revealing Sebastian standing behind him.

"_That's_ Sebastian." Ciel replies.


	16. Chapter 16

Sebastian ties Chambers to his computer chair and then moves over to Ciel. He has to take caution in not tying the man up so tightly that his organs come out of his throat.

Sebastian had witnessed the way Chambers was touching Ciel just now and the mere thought makes him want to strangle the man until he coughs up blood and bones.

"I'm sorry it took me so long, my lord. Did he hurt you?" Sebastian questions, scanning Ciel's body with his eyes. He notices the rucked up dress but doesn't bother fixing it.

"He didn't hurt me. He did drug me. MDMA. Nasty man." Ciel grumbles, shifting up into a sitting position. Sebastian places a palm over Ciel's forehead and can feel how hot his skin is, undoubtedly a side effect from the drug. Ciel leans into the touch.

"Indeed. Shall I wake him now, my lord?" Sebastian inquires. Ciel nods and Sebastian walks over to Chambers. He pushes his chair over to the foot of the bed so Ciel can ask him questions with ease.

Sebastian then proceeds to smack Chambers across the face a few times, far harder than he needs to wake the man but he considers that punishment for touching Ciel.

Chambers sputters awake and as soon as he sees Sebastian he starts blubbering something about how 'Robin' was just auditioning for one of his movies and he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Silence. I- you were accused of being connected to a murder that took place in 2009, near Sacramento." Ciel says. He keeps shifting, as if he's restless, and his eyes are half-lidded. He's leaning back against the pillows but he's constantly moving, these little half-movements that make Sebastian wonder whether or not it's a side effect of the drug.

"What murder? I've never committed a murder in my life, I-" Aleister's addressing Sebastian but Ciel is quick to cut him off.

"Don't talk to him. He won't listen to you; he's _mine_. I _tamed_ him." Ciel says, sounding proud. Sebastian smirks at the boy's possessive tone.

_Well, my talons are deeper than I previously assumed..._

"Who are you? I thought you wanted to audition... " Chambers cries, sounding hurt, as if Ciel had wronged him.

Sebastian wants to snap the man's jaw, wring his neck, make him feel a form of pain that can't be measured by human limits.

"Idiot. Do you know... your friend thinks you murdered the Phantomhives?" Ciel questions. His voice sounds slightly dreamy, as if he's floating somewhere away from everything.

"The Phantomhives? Why would I ever do such a thing? Vincent was my friend!" Aleister says. He sounds defensive and Sebastian has yet another urge to break the man, snap him in half.

"No, no... if you didn't who did?" Ciel demands, his voice a whine.

"I only know very little on the subject. I'd tried to purchase the boy, _Ciel_, but he had escaped before they'd accept my money. Three million, those idiots. They wanted me to go higher! Can you believe that?" Aleister demands.

"You tried to... purchase him?" Sebastian demands.

"Yes, the man that was holding him was considering selling him and I, of course, offered good money for a child that beautiful. The man was an idiot, called himself 'the father', had a base in France and wouldn't even accept my money-" Aleister cuts off as Sebastian punches him in the face, knuckles connecting to his jaw as he hits the floor. Aleister's unconscious and still tied to the chair, both the man and chair laying on their sides. Sebastian's positive that the man's jaw is broken.

"Sebastian." Ciel murmurs wonderingly. Sebastian's standing over Aleister, glaring down at the disgusting individual.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I wasn't planning on that, but-" Sebastian cuts off when he glances up at Ciel.

The boy's crawling across the king-sized bed, on his hands and knees. It's a languid and sinuous movement.

"I've seen you, you know... " Ciel purrs, looking up at Sebastian with a smirk.

"Pardon?" Sebastian questions. Ciel reaches a thin arm out and grabs Sebastian's tie, pulling him forward.

"When you think I'm asleep... I'm only pretending to be- because I like it." Ciel whispers. When he glances up at Sebastian, his pupils are blown and he's practically hanging off of Sebastian's tie.

"I like that you stare at me when you think I'm asleep." Ciel murmurs. He shifts up onto his knees and kisses Sebastian's collarbone, that strip of skin being the only place he can reach.

"Little lord, you shouldn't-"

"Shh. It's ego-pleasing. I wish you slept. If you did, I wonder if you'd dream of me. I bet you would." Ciel sighs against Sebastian's skin. "Do you think you'd say my name in your sleep?"

"I think we should get you back to the hotel, little lord." Sebastian says. He sounds as reserved as always but his fingers feel shaky as he wraps his hand around the boy's wrist. He can almost imagine the boy's hollow bones underneath his fair skin, slender and fragile.

Sebastian could probably break Ciel with ease, if he was allowed, if the boy wanted him to.

"Yes. I want out of this dress, Sebastian." Ciel groans. He moves forward, leading the way out of Aleister's room. He doesn't have shoes on and is drugged, so Sebastian scoops the boy up in his arms, carrying him down the stairs and then out to the car.

Ciel undoes a few of the buttons on Sebastian's white dress shirt and he has to pry the child's fingers off of his shirt.

A few partygoers give them some odd looks but Ciel smiles at them brilliantly.

"You're no fun... I hope you're more fun at the hotel." Ciel informs Sebastian. He rests his head on Sebastian's shoulder and then nuzzles against his neck.

He can feel the boy grinding his teeth and when he touches his small jaw, Sebastian can feel how tightly the boy's clenching it.

"Why are you grinding your teeth?" Sebastian questions.

"I'm not." Ciel responds, sounding confused. A side effect of the drug, then.

Sebastian is quick to get in the driver's seat, place Ciel in the passenger seat and then lock the doors before pulling out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Ciel questions. He's leaning over the console, his breath soft against Sebastian's cheek.

"The police. I'm informing them of the child pornography Chambers possesses and the attempted assault, anonymously." Sebastian responds.

"Good. I'm glad you're on my team." Ciel murmurs. He leans back over in his seat and is surprisingly silent while Sebastian talks to the police and remains silent until they're paused at a red light a few miles down the road.

"Do you paint your fingernails this way?" Ciel demands, suddenly grabbing one of Sebastian's hands and holding it in both of his own.

Ciel's fingers look ridiculous against Sebastian's and the demon can't help but smile as he glances down at the comparison.

"No. They have always been black." Sebastian replies. Ciel nods and releases Sebastian's hand, leaning back in his seat. He keeps shifting his hips, as if he can't get comfortable, and Sebastian keeps glancing over every time the boy moves.

"Sebastian, I want this _off_." Ciel whines, his voice a supplication. "Won't you take this off me?"

"We're almost to the hotel." Sebastian says, desperately hoping that another side effect of the drug is falling asleep. He isn't used to dealing with _this _Ciel Phantomhive.

Ciel groans and lets his head fall back against the seat.

They arrive to the hotel and Sebastian carries Ciel into this building as well, pleased that they don't run into anyone as the move through the hotel.

The room is dark when they go in and Sebastian leaves the lights off. He closes the door and deposits Ciel on the bed.  
Ciel falls back against the thick comforter but is almost immediately moving around, practically writhing against the sheets.

"I want this off." Ciel begs as if he's in pain. Sebastian moves over to the boy and pulls him up into a sitting position. He then unzips the dress and Ciel immediately crawls off the bed, allowing the dress to pool at his feet.

"Everything; all of it." Ciel commands. Sebastian complies, removing the few remaining articles of clothing on his little master's body. The boy collapses back on the bed, arms above his head as he rolls over onto his stomach.

"I'm thirsty." Ciel complains. Sebastian hands him a water bottle and opens it for him when he can't seem to get it himself.  
Ciel drinks it greedily and almost immediately demands more but Sebastian refuses, remembering something about too much water while on ecstasy being a bad thing.

"Sebastian... was any information gained from this?" Ciel questions. He suddenly seems back to a slightly more normal state, the only clues that he's drugged being his blown out pupils and the way he's constantly shifting.

"Yes. We did find out that Aleister wasn't the murderer of your parents and that whoever had kidnapped you goes by the name 'the father' and that he has a base in France." Sebastian replies.

"I suppose that we did gain something. That's good. Sebastian... you won't be leaving yet, will you?" Ciel questions, looking up at the demon. His eyes are droopy and Sebastian can't lie to him, can't make up things about leaving him.

"No. I'll be here when you wake." Sebastian replies.

"Good." Ciel sighs, winding his arm around Sebastian's shoulders and pulling him down on the bed. Ciel's small little body is pressed against Sebastian's clothed one and Ciel takes a deep breath, inhaling the demon's scent. Sebastian settles a hand on Ciel's lower back and Ciel nuzzles closer to him sleepily.

"You're mine. That's how... how it should be." Ciel murmurs, his voice fading out as he slips into unconsciousness. His voice doesn't sound possessive, or proud anymore... merely endearing.


	17. Chapter 17

Everything's hazy, almost like a dream, and Ciel's alone in a vast darkness.

"Sebastian!" He calls because the demon should be here with him.

**He's always here.**

There is no response and Ciel holds a hand out in front of him, reaching for something in this empty darkness. His hand meets nothing and he's starting to panic, his breath coming out in sharp little gasps that will soon reduce him to a panic attack. He feels soft things brushing against him and when he manages to catch one, he's able to tell that it's a feather. Feathers are falling all around him and for some reason that makes him think of Sebastian again.

Suddenly, he feels a hand on his shoulder, shaking him, trying to hurt him.

"Sebastian!" Ciel tries again, silently hoping for that damn demon. The hand is still shaking his shoulder and Ciel cries out, jerking out of the grasp.

"Don't touch me." Ciel commands, grabbing the pistol beside him on the nightstand. He points it directly at the monster in front of him.

"When I saw that you had packed a book of Poe's work I knew that you shouldn't read it." Sebastian says, moving out of direct range of the pistol Ciel's pointing at him.

"Although, your nightmare might've been a side effect from the drugs." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel's panting, holding his pistol towards Sebastian for a moment longer before reality seems to sink in.

It was a nightmare; nothing more.

Ciel sets the gun down slowly and shakily swings his legs over the edge of the bed. Sebastian is already dialing room service but he's watching Ciel closely. Ciel feels odd, still coming down from the nightmare, and he really wishes that he could go over and hug Sebastian to ease the fear he still feels in the back of his mind.

It's an oddly childish notion and as soon as that thought enters his mind, Ciel's back to his usual clinical and reserved self. He can't be thinking about _hugging_ people, especially _Sebastian._ He walks over to the window and glances out for a moment before turning back to the demon.

He vaguely remembers things from last night, everything murky around the edges, but he does remember revealing a few choice things to Sebastian that he wishes he hadn't. Ciel sighs and goes back under the covers so the man that brings in his breakfast won't see him naked.

He does remember begging for Sebastian to take the dress off of him and the thought makes him blush.

"How are you feeling?" Sebastian questions. He rises from the armchair and places his palm on Ciel's forehead.

"Alright. I would like a bath after breakfast." Ciel says. Sebastian nods. He looks at Ciel for a moment and then smiles, turning away suddenly.

"What are you laughing at?" Ciel demands.

"It's only that my little lord looks quite like a little lady at the moment." Sebastian laughs. Ciel realizes that he still has the extensions in his hair and that there's pink lip gloss smeared at one corner of his mouth.

"You will see to righting that as well." Ciel mutters darkly. Sebastian nods and then opens the door for the large red-headed man that always brings up Ciel's breakfast.

"Well, here ya go. You guys liking it here in Cali?" The man questions, looking back and forth between Sebastian and Ciel. Ciel groans internally because he really doesn't want to have a conversation with this man, especially now when he's naked underneath the comforter, lip gloss on his mouth and hair extensions in his hair.

"It's satisfactory enough." Ciel replies. If he notices Ciel's appearance he doesn't mention it.

"Why, I didn't know you were British. Both of you that way?" The man asks. He doesn't sound like he's from around California.

"Yes, we are." Sebastian says.

"You staying here long?" The man inquires.

"No, we'll be leaving at six today." Ciel replies.

"Oh, I best be getting out of your hair then. Well... I certainly hope your stay here was good." The man says, smiling as he exits the room.

Ciel sighs and walks over to his bag, slipping on a pair of pants before he eats his breakfast. Today it's chocolate chip pancakes with milk and strawberries on the side.

"Sebastian, draw the bath." Ciel says as he finishes his breakfast. Ciel removes the extensions from his own hair while the water's running, the removal process far easier than the process had been for putting the damn things in.

Ciel relaxes in the tub, once it's ready, and Sebastian almost immediately starts washing the boy's hair.

"I was unaware that you were planning on leaving today." Sebastian murmurs.

"Well, I am." Ciel replies.

"Where are you planning on going?" Sebastian inquires. His fingernails are scratching at Ciel's scalp and the boy sighs contentedly.

"France, if my memories from last night serve correctly." Ciel says.

"Were you planning on going alone?" Sebastian asks. He smooths Ciel's hair off of his forehead and Ciel closes his eyes.

"Were you planning on leaving me?" Ciel counters. He's immensely pleased with himself because he doesn't sound needy or desperate; he sounds cool and detached.

"No, I believe I'll accompany you a little longer, my lord. You are not returning to London and I haven't been to France in quite some time." Sebastian says. Ciel smiles and opens his eyes, tilting his head back and looking up at Sebastian.

"Well, I do hope you speak French, Sebastian." Ciel murmurs.

"I happen to be fluent." Sebastian replies after a moment. His eyes are on Ciel's pale skin, not one particular place, and Ciel wonders what the demon's thinking.

"Hm." Ciel says. And then, "Massage my shoulders. We'll have another long flight in our future, I'm afraid."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian responds.

Ciel and Sebastian end up leaving at four instead of six, taking a taxi to the LAX so they can board their plane on time. They'll be taking yet another red-eye flight, this time to Paris.

After his bath, Ciel merely had to get dressed and then they left the hotel.

Ciel and Sebastian speak in French while they're standing in line so no one will know what they're talking about and also so Ciel can brush up on his skills.

Sebastian repeats the process of revealing their pre-purchased tickets and receiving their gate number. They board the plane with little hassle.

Ciel moves towards the first class section once they're on the plane and Sebastian wraps a hand around his upper arm to stop him.

"Little master-"

"Sebastian, I took the liberty of buying first class tickets this time." Ciel interrupts. "I'm aware that it's more suspicious but no one is watching us and besides, it's extremely annoying to have you shifting about for eleven hours because your legs are too long."

Sebastian doesn't argue with the boy and follows him to their seats in first class. He's pleased that the seats are more comfortable yet he's even more pleased with the fact that he knows the real reason Ciel purchased first class seats.

It's because he doesn't want Sebastian to be uncomfortable and Sebastian wants to _hear_ the child admit that. He hasn't heard him admit anything to him since the night he was drugged, pupils dilated and mind wandering.

Ciel had been bold, voicing things he'd never dream of saying now and that pleases Sebastian more than it should. He doesn't bring up anything the boy had said only because Ciel himself doesn't. It isn't very important though because Sebastian's flying across the country with this boy safely tucked in beside him, already falling asleep.

The boy trusts him, believes him to be a tamed demon, and Sebastian stretches lazily at the thought.

He isn't positive on the plan but as far as he knows, they're going to be staying in another hotel until Ciel can contact his Aunt Angeline. Sebastian is far less excited about this prospect because he doesn't want his time with the boy being monitored but there's no help for it.

Sebastian just hopes that Ciel's aunt won't end up being a murderer in this life, working with a shinigami, because Sebastian doesn't really want to deal with the emotional trauma Ciel will have to face. It leads to intermittent nightmares, even worse than the normal ones, and Sebastian would prefer for the child to be dreaming of things that Sebastian can save him from.

They exit the plane with fairly little hassle, although it's 3 A.M. this time and bitterly cold out.

Ciel's little shoulders are hunched up and he still looks sleepy as they climb down the stairs and exit the plane. They have to walk across a small parking lot, along with the other passengers, and Sebastian doesn't notice anything wrong with Ciel until the wind stops blowing.

The boy's coughing, these harsh little gasps that immediately have Sebastian on edge.

"My lord?" Sebastian questions, moving closer to the boy. Ciel merely shakes his head in response and bends over, coughing fiercely. People are beginning to look over at Ciel so Sebastian winds an arm around the boy and pulls him over to the side of the parking lot. He gets down on one knee and allows the boy to sit down on his thigh.

Sebastian undoes the first few buttons of Ciel's shirt and gently rubs the skin right over the boy's heart. He can feel the boy's pulse thudding underneath the thin skin there and Sebastian wonders what it would be like to kiss the boy there, right against his sternum and feel that frantic little heart against his lips.

"I assume you don't have your inhaler?" Sebastian questions. He remains level-headed on the outside, not wanting to frighten the boy, but on the inside he's assessing their situation while trying to recall what past experiences have required of him.

Ciel shakes his head no. Sebastian sighs and looks at the boy for a moment, taking in his wide eyes and frightened expression.

"My lord, everything's going to be fine. You just need to breath." Sebastian says. He's still rubbing the boy's chest while trying to calm him down simultaneously.

"It's merely too cold for you out here and I believe long flights aren't good for your health either. Nevertheless, all you need to do is _relax_ and _breath_." Sebastian says. He sustains eye contact with the child and doesn't look away.

Sebastian doesn't like seeing Ciel in this state because he can't _force_ his esophagus to work properly again. In other words, Sebastian's helpless.

Ciel nods weakly and makes a conscious effort to breathe. He winces the first couple times but eventually his coughing fades out.

"Se-Sebas-tian." Ciel stutters and Sebastian suddenly realizes that now that the boy's coughing is gone, he's obviously freezing cold. His teeth are chattering and he's shivering.

"Yes, here, young master." Sebastian says, automatically shifting the boy into a standing position and supporting him with one arm while he takes off his long coat with the other. Sebastian places the coat over Ciel's shoulders, wrapping it around his body and then picking him up.

Ciel doesn't even protest and not a single star is out above their heads as Sebastian carries the frail boy towards the Parisian taxis waiting at the end of the street for all the tourists.

Ciel's breath is warm on Sebastian's throat and it's the perfect scene for a demon to whisk a little boy away from everything he's ever known.


	18. Chapter 18

Sebastian wakes Ciel up at noon, offering him a croissant and coffee.

"I'm not fond of coffee." Ciel complains, blowing on the hot drink. "And you let me sleep in."

"This hotel's tea is of such a poor quality that I wouldn't have even wanted it near you. And I let you sleep in because of the fact that you had an asthma attack last night." Sebastian replies.

"Yes, that was quite inconvenient." Ciel murmurs. He's leaning up against the headboard, nibbling on his croissant.

"Are your asthma attacks frequent, my lord?" Sebastian questions. He sits down on the other bed in the room. Ciel's pleased that he actually remembered to purchase a room with two beds this time. It makes everything a little less suspicious.

"Quite the opposite. I haven't had an asthma attack in three years... the last one was actually when I flew out here to visit Aunt Angeline. That one had been so bad I'd had to go to the ER." Ciel responds.

"May I ask how close you are to your Aunt in this life?" Sebastian questions. It's the first time he's mentioned Ciel's past life in a while and Ciel wonders what his relationship was like with his aunt in the past.

"We aren't terribly close. I'm fond of her but she only flies out to my house every Christmas. She's very generous and obviously caring, although her profession is detestable and doesn't allow her much free time." Ciel replies.

He finishes his small breakfast and then walks over to the corner of the room where his luggage is resting. He pulls his phone out of the bag and dials a number, motioning for Sebastian to be patient.

"Hello. Yes, this is Ciel Phantomhive. Please dispatch me to Mr. Landers." Ciel says.

Sebastian, too busy paying attention to the hollow of Ciel's throat and the way his collarbone shifts when he breaths, the steady rise and fall of the boy's chest, that he doesn't notice the name of the recipient Ciel's attempting to contact.

"Hi. Yes, I was wondering- What. No, I... please give me a moment to call you back." Ciel says. He ends the call and then tosses his phone on the bed.

"Sebastian... "

"Hm." The demon responds.

"Were you aware of the fact that there is currently an ongoing search for the recovery of me?" Ciel questions.

"What kind of search, sir?" Sebastian asks. It's the first time he's called Ciel sir and Ciel notices.

"A police investigation. When I didn't come home, Imogen went to the police and is now offering a reward for my safe return. She believes that you abducted me and has been naming you as my abductor." Ciel says.

"I was under the impression that Imogen didn't care for you." Sebastian replies.

"She does not care for me. She simply feels guilty because she was paid to take care of me and believes that a pedophile kidnapped me right under her eyes while she passively stood by. Also, she won't be paid until I return to London. It's obvious." Ciel snaps.

He's frustrated at the situation because he isn't sure how he should handle it. There's only an investigation going on in England at the moment but it most definitely needs to be called off. Sebastian doesn't even bother telling Ciel that he's not planning on letting him return to London. The boy's already stressed out far too much.

"How have they not noticed that you've been spending money on your account?" Sebastian questions.

"Before we left for California I had a large sum of money transferred from that account to another under an alias. I performed this myself and wirelessly so no one could trace it." Ciel replies. He pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger in a show of annoyance.

"My lord, I fear this is stressing you too much. Perhaps you should make an official statement of some kind stating that you are not being held against your will." Sebastian offers.

"I don't have time for that." Ciel growls. "I need to be focusing on contacting Aunt Angeline so I can get closer to discovering 'the father'."

The boy moves a hand up to push his hair back off his face and Sebastian catches it, leaning down so he's level with Ciel.

"My lord, don't fret over trivial matters. The investigation is currently going on in England. It'll be a few weeks at the very least before other countries begin to hear of it. If we haven't accomplished anything throughout the duration of this time then you'll have to release a statement of some kind." Sebastian says. Ciel's hand twitches in Sebastian's grip and he stares at the man for a moment.

"I believe that you're correct. That'll have to do for now." Ciel says. Sebastian releases the boy's hand and rises to his full height.

"My Aunt's profession requires her to work during regular business hours so we'll have to attempt to contact her later in the evening." Ciel walks over to his suitcase and grabs his laptop, turning it on and placing it on his bed. It's the first time he's used it on this trip as far as Sebastian knows.

"What is her profession?" Sebastian questions.

"She used to work as a doctor underneath a medical professional but when her boss faced several violations and eventually had his license revoked, he moved offices to a new location and began an abortion clinic. She works there under him." Ciel replies. He's typing something and the steady clicks of the keys is the only noise for a few seconds.

Sebastian's surprised to say the least but he's not going to voice that. It's unnecessary.

"Hm. I wasn't aware of that." Sebastian says.

"Yes. It is quite detestable." Ciel murmurs. Sebastian pulls his phone out of his pocket and searches Ciel's name.

The investigation immediately comes up, claiming that a potential pedophile, Sebastian Michaelis, is suspected of kidnapping Ciel Phantomhive, the head of Funtom Company. There are a few pictures of Ciel and then a few sketches of Sebastian that don't do him justice. Sebastian exits the browser and then turns his phone off. He turns to look over at Ciel and finds the boy already staring at him.

"My lord?" Sebastian questions. He hadn't even noticed the boy's eyes on him.

"Sebastian, I've just contacted a... friend, of sorts. They're willing to speak to me today." Ciel says. His laptop's closed and sitting at the foot of the bed.

"I assume that means we're going to visit this friend?" Sebastian asks.

"Yes. I'm afraid we'll be postponing our visit to Aunt Angeline by one day. My friend is from the FBI and will offer valuable information." Ciel says. He tilts his head towards the suitcase, signaling for Sebastian to get him a change of clothes.

"Isn't the FBI an American organization?" Sebastian questions, rifling through Ciel's suitcase for an appropriate outfit. He settles for a black pair of jeans and a gray long-sleeved shirt.

"Yes. This certain aquantice is an ex member of the FBI but still has many connections with them. He'll be able to help me gather some information on 'the father'." Ciel replies. He raises his arms above his head and Sebastian smiles as he tugs the boy's shirt off.

Ciel leans back on his arms as Sebastian unfolds his gray shirt. He's quick to sit up straight again when Sebastian pulls the shirt over his head. Sebastian wonders if the boy's been remembering things, if he remembers the years Sebastian spent dressing and undressing him.

There's a part of Sebastian that's angered that Ciel doesn't remember everything, doesn't remember even trivial things like that, but if that's the price he has to pay for the boy to live... he's most certainly willing to pay it.

Once Ciel is dressed they both exit the hotel, locking the door to their room, and walk down the curb to hail a taxi.

There are a lot of Parisians milling around, most of them smoking cigarettes. A few young woman, most of whom look like they're in their early twenties, keep glancing at Ciel and finally one of them walks over to him. Sebastian automatically moves a little closer to his little master.

"Comment obtenez-vous si mince? Un corps comme ça... vous pourriez être un modèle." The girl murmurs, sounding jealous. Ciel looks slightly confused so Sebastian explains to the boy that the girl wants to know how he's so thin. Sebastian also explains that she thinks Ciel could be a model.

"Merci. Je suis encore jeune alors je suppose que c'est pourquoi." Ciel replies, blushing lightly. The girl laughs and pinches his cheek gently. Ciel's light demeanor immediately leaves once he climbs into the taxi and is away from the pleasant French woman.

"You know, I don't think your size has anything to do with your youth." Sebastian says, referring to Ciel's previous statement. Ciel's just given the driver directions and he turns to look at Sebastian before responding.

"Well... what do you think the reason is?" Ciel questions.

"You've always been small... in this life and in the past. I quite honestly can't imagine you as an adult; it seems inconceivable." Sebastian murmurs. "You'll probably get a lot of comments on your weight while we're here. A very large percentage of these French girls would kill to be as thin as you."

"That's idiotic. How thin you are doesn't dictate anything in this world." Ciel grumbles. He's obviously against society's ideas of beauty and that's not very surprising. Ciel Phantomhive would never be a conformist.

"Very true. However, people have preferences and some prefer to be thin." Sebastian replies. Sebastian's looking out the window but he sees Ciel glance at him out of the corner of his eye.

"And what's your preference?"

"My preference for whom?" Sebastian questions, turning and meeting the boy's gaze. Ciel's eyes look impossibly large looking up at him. Sebastian's still not used to seeing both of them out, unmarked before him and he takes a moment to admire them.

"For others." Ciel responds.

"I have but one preference, Ciel Phantomhive. Rest assured that _you_ are my preference." Sebastian replies. Ciel gives him a sharp look and he can't help but smile at the expression on the boy's face.

"Hm." Ciel murmurs, sounding indifferent. He almost pulls off the act of nonchalance but Sebastian notices the twitch of the boy's mouth and the way he turns away to look out the window. Sebastian laughs.

_Ciel Phantomhive will most certainly be __**mine**__, body and soul._

The large building they pull up to is in the east end of Paris, the buildings here far more mundane than the bustling grand avenues.

This specific building is stone but looks more modern than most of the buildings around it. Ciel leads the way into the enormous building, getting in an elevator and pressing the button for the 13th floor.

_How foreboding._

Sebastian follows Ciel through a few sets of doors before the boy knocks on a large door that obviously leads to another hallway. The black door opens and reveals an aged man wearing glasses and a business suit.

"Name?" The man questions. His eyes scan over Ciel but linger on Sebastian.

"Ciel Phantomhive." Ciel says. The man merely stares at Sebastian, waiting for a response.

"Sebastian Michealis." Sebastian replies, smiling.

"I'm here to speak with Landers." Ciel says, attempting to move past the man. The man puts a hand up to bar Ciel's entrance.

"Landers isn't here. He just left an hour ago... some kind of an emergency."

"Fine, then Abberline will do." Ciel sighs. He seems frustrated and Sebastian smiles down at the small boy.

"Very well. I suppose you know the way?" The man questions. He pushes his glasses up his nose and glances over at Sebastian again. The man feels uneasy and wonders what exactly Sebastian's connection is with Ciel Phantomhive.

"Yes. Come, Sebastian." Ciel commands, slipping past the man. The demon follows suit.

"Have a pleasant day." Sebastian murmurs. The man watches them walk down the long hallway until they go around a corner and he can't see them anymore.

* * *

Note:

The French girl said, "How do you get so thin? A body like that... you could be a model."

Ciel responded with, "Thank you. I'm guess it's because I'm so young."


	19. Chapter 19

Sebastian and Ciel sit in front of a thick desk, bare save for a few small pictures and a closed laptop. No one else is in the room besides them.

"Who are we meeting today?" Sebastian asks. Ciel's scanning around the room, probably looking for inconsistencies since his last visit.

"Fred Abberline. He's not as good as Landers but he's close enough. He'll be able to give me some information as long as I tell him what I'm looking for." Ciel replies.

"Ciel! I haven't seen you in a very long time!" A man exclaims, running in the office and throwing his arms around Ciel's shoulders.

"Get off me!" Ciel snaps, pushing at the man until he moves away. "_This_ is Fred Abberline." He says to Sebastian.

Sebastian smiles at the man pleasantly.

"Pleased to meet you. Are you a friend of Ciel's?" Abberline questions, moving to sit behind his desk.

"Yes. A friend." Sebastian replies. He feels Ciel looking at him but when he looks over at the boy his eyes are trained on Abberline.

"Alright, turn your laptop on so we can get started. First off, look in the police database for Sebastian Michealis." Ciel says.

Sebastian smiles because he isn't really sure if the boy is trying to determine whether he has a criminal record or whether he's been entered in the database due to the search for Ciel; probably both. Abberline doesn't know his name so he probably won't find anything suspicious in Ciel searching up the name of his "friend".

Abberline does as he's told.

"There are zero results for Sebastian Michealis. I can run it through the birth certificate registry if you want." Abberline offers.

"No, that won't be necessary. I want you to look up 'the father' or 'le père' in the French database. Look up anything from trafficking to drug abuse to homicide." Ciel orders. He crosses his legs and Sebastian can tell that the boy feels at ease, as if he's in his own element here, giving orders.

"There are only a few matches. Three matches for a murderer caught in Stockholm, another match for someone who was suspected of homicide but turned out to be innocent, and another for someone who was temporarily caught but released under mysterious circumstances." Abberline replies.

"Alright, print off all the information on the suspected murderer and suspiciously released one. The Stockholm ones won't be necessary. What were the locations and years for the other two?" Ciel questions.

"The murder was in 2009 but the man wasn't proven innocent until 2011, when he was released. The other man was caught in 2008 and released in 2010. Both occurred in London." Abberline says. And then, after a beat, "Are you going to be returning to London soon?"

"No, I'm afraid I won't be returning to London for quite some time." Ciel sighs. He turns his head to look at Sebastian and when their eyes meet, Sebastian glances away.

_Surely the boy doesn't know... there's no way he could know that I'm planning on- Certainly not._

"Well that's a shame seeing as how both of these took place in London. However, the man suspected of homicide did come to France for asylum." Abberline murmurs.

"Hm. Very well, give me the information." Ciel commands, holding a pale hand out for the papers Abberline just printed.

He passes the papers to the small boy who automatically takes a paper clip off of Abberline's desk and clips them together.

"Thank you. That was greatly appreciated. I wouldn't have bothered you but I do not have access to the French database-"

"Ciel! Don't worry about imposing on me! I love hearing from you. I'm going to London this weekend and will probably be staying until the beginning of Summer but perhaps when you come back to London we can get some lunch or something." Abberline offers. He really does seem fond of Ciel.

"Perhaps." Ciel responds, giving Sebastian another one of those glances. Sebastian's normally good at reading the small child and not being able to interpret his emotions irks the demon.

"Au revoir!" Abberline says with a smile.

"Yes. Adieu." Ciel says in an apathetic voice.

The boy and the demon climb into yet another taxi, this time headed back to their hotel.

"Are you really not planning on returning to London anytime soon, little master?" Sebastian questions. He isn't sure if Ciel actually knows what he's planning or not.

"Don't play dumb, Sebastian. I'm well aware that you don't want me to return to London and plan on holding me against my will if necessary." Ciel replies. He's resting his chin on his small hand as he looks out the window.

"Pardon?" Sebastian questions. He's so surprised, so _shocked _that this child... this _child_ knew what he was planning all along and just went with it, as if he had nothing to be afraid of.

Ciel knew he was in Sebastian's grasp and he lounged in it, carefree and passive.

"Did you really think you were controlling me?" Ciel questions, turning his head to look at Sebastian. He looks haughty and Sebastian sighs as he realizes that he's going to have to frighten the child to make him realize that he's not in control.

He doesn't really want to but Ciel can't know that he has a hold over Sebastian, that he has leverage over him.

Ciel moves to turn his head away and resume his staring out the window, but Sebastian grabs his chin and presses him back against the door of the taxi.

Ciel squirms in Sebastian's grasp but automatically stops moving when Sebastian tightens his grip on his chin.

"You seem to be a little misguided." Sebastian murmurs. He presses even closer to Ciel and the boy makes a thin noise in the back of his throat as if he's trying to breathe.

"What's going on back there?" The taxi driver demands, surprisingly speaking a little bit of English.

"Nothing. Please continue driving." Sebastian says, grinning. He doesn't take his eyes off Ciel.

"Now, let me set something straight. You may think that you are the dominate one, the one that is pulling the strings, but that is only because I _let_ you feel that way." Sebastian lies. In truth, he has very little control over the child but that doesn't matter... as long as Ciel thinks Sebastian's in control everything's fine.

"So that's what you want then?" Ciel demands. He squirms again, the door handle digging into his back painfully. He's very aware of his close proximity to Sebastian and it's making him feel shaky. He's worried that once Sebastian's no longer pressing him against the door his body won't be able to hold itself up anymore.

"To control you? Certainly not. I don't want to control you; I just want you." Sebastian says. His voice reminds Ciel of liquid chocolate, sweet and delicious. Ciel could give in to that voice very easily.

"In what way?" Ciel demands feebly.

"In every way, little Phantomhive." Sebastian drawls, making Ciel's breath hitch. They remain eye contact for a few moments and Ciel thinks about kissing Sebastian, wonders if his lips would be soft.

He's about to do it too, just to take the edge off of the heady unfamiliar feeling in his stomach, when Sebastian's suddenly gone, no longer pressing Ciel up against the door.

Ciel swallows and straightens himself, tugging his jacket back into place. He feels oddly exposed without the heat of Sebastian's body in front of his.

"This conversation isn't over." Ciel informs Sebastian. He doesn't look at the demon again because he's afraid he'll think about kissing him again.

_Stupid teenage hormones._

"Naturally." Sebastian replies. Ciel can hear the sinister smile in his voice.

The remainder of the taxi ride is short, spent in silence, the taxi driver occasionally asking if everything's okay. He drops them off looking worried and Ciel feels like he should be worried too.

Sebastian's always had a predatory side to him, sadism gleaming around the edges, but Ciel's never really felt like prey.

Now, Sebastian's gentle hand guiding him up the stairs makes him jolt and he feels shaky the closer they get to the hotel room, as if he's walking towards his own demise.

Ciel has to remind himself countless times that he needs to at least give off the semblance of being calm. When he walks into the hotel room, he tells Sebastian to leave the lights off.

"Sebastian, my goal is not to foil your plan. I don't care about that. I just have a request." Ciel says, leaning against the wall. The curtains in this room are open, the moonlight pooling around them.

"What is your request?" Sebastian murmurs.

"If attaining revenge against those who humiliated the Phantomhive name requires me to travel to London, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me go. I'd rather not attempt to escape a demon and would prefer to just travel with you peacefully." Ciel sighs. He doesn't look frightened but calm, in control, as always.

"Very well, my lord. Just don't expect to settle in London." Sebastian replies. It's obvious by the set of Ciel's mouth that he doesn't like it when Sebastian attempts to control him. However, Sebastian doesn't want to control the boy, he just wants to keep him.

"I don't know why you do that." Ciel replies. He glances up at Sebastian, the moonlight casting strange shadows on his face.

"Do what?" Sebastian responds. He's not exactly following Ciel's train of thought.

"Pretend that I don't have some kind of hold on you." Ciel replies. Sebastian narrows his eyes and Ciel continues on.

"All that in the taxi was just a bluff, you attempting to assert dominance over me. However, there's something you should know Sebastian: the master commands and the dog obeys." Ciel says. Sebastian allows the boy a smile for a moment before he walks towards him, invading his personal space.

"Perhaps I should purchase a whip for your bad behavior." Ciel murmurs. He sounds amused and Sebastian images breaking the child again, shattering that calm façade.

"Perhaps." He replies. He looks at Ciel for a moment longer, taking in his neutral expression.

Ciel opens his mouth to say something else but he can't because Sebastian's suddenly kissing him, pressing their mouths together roughly.


	20. Chapter 20

Note: All of the dialogue in Italics is in the past.

* * *

While Ciel's body is focused on his position, one shoe of top of Sebastian's, an arm pinned between their bodies, his mind is focused on all of the images flitting behind his eyes almost at once.

Ciel doesn't know how he hasn't collapsed because he suddenly remembers _everything_, just like Sebastian had said.

_Sebastian._

His mouth is impossibly soft and Ciel regrettably has to turn his head away to breathe for a moment. He's panting, these harsh little gasps that sound far too loud in this hotel room in Paris. The demon allows him to take one breath before he recaptures Ciel's mouth, his fingers unbuttoning the boy's overcoat.

"Sebastian." Ciel rasps, tilting Sebastian's jaw away from his own so he can breath for a moment. The demon pauses his fastidious motions and looks at Ciel. His mouth looks odd, swollen slightly, and Ciel touches his parted lips lightly before he speaks.

"I remember everything; all of it." Ciel says, still breathing hard. Sebastian looks at him and then he backs away, moving out of Ciel's grasp.

"Very good. I was hoping that it would work. Tainting souls is a tricky business." Sebastian sighs. Ciel's arms are still held out to Sebastian and he looks extremely confused.

"What?" He demands.

"I was hoping that you would regain your memories although I wasn't sure of the validity of this technique." Sebastian replies. Ciel swallows and leans his head back against the wall, watching Sebastian.

"You're saying... that you did that... because you wanted me to regain my memories?" Ciel questions, still breathing harder than he needs to be.

"Yes." Sebastian replies. He seems unruffled and this only angers Ciel.

"Couldn't you have asked me?" Ciel demands.

"I could have but your answer would've been no. Your pride wouldn't have allowed it so I decided to make a move that would benefit you." Sebastian says.

Ciel feels like punching Sebastian but he mostly wants to go to sleep. He isn't sure if Sebastian is telling the truth and that he really did only kiss Ciel so he'd regain his memories or if he had... ulterior motives.

"Well, from now on do not take liberties with me unless it is necessary." Ciel commands. He bends down and unlaces his boots, kicking them off angrily.

"I'm going to sleep." Ciel grumbles.

"Very well." Sebastian replies. He grabs pajamas for Ciel and attempts to undress him but the boy is quick to snap at him.

"Not tonight. I can manage on my own." Ciel growls, pushing Sebastian's hands away. Sebastian goes over to his bed and sits down, pulling out his phone.

Ciel falls asleep with his back to the demon.

In the morning, Ciel has a scowl etched on his face, annoyance remaining from the previous night. He isn't even sure if he's annoyed at Sebastian for kissing him or himself for reacting that way.

_Stupid teenage hormones._

"Sebastian." Ciel says without turning around to look at the other bed.

"Yes?" The demon responds. Ciel turns his head and Sebastian's suddenly standing there, a pale darkness.

"I want to clear up a few... murky details of my past." Ciel sighs.

He hadn't slept well, memories plaguing him. There was one particular memory that he wanted to ask Sebastian about.

"Was there a certain memory you had in mind?" Sebastian questions. He walks over to Ciel's suitcase and pulls out an outfit for him to wear.

"I was wondering how exactly I died. My memory of that particular moment is very choppy." Ciel responds.

"What exactly do you remember about that night?" Sebastian asks. There's a slight curve to his mouth that shows he isn't pleased with this topic. He begins unbuttoning the boy's shirt.

"Very little. It's mostly glimpses of things. I can remember I had a horrible wound in my stomach because blood was all over my hands. I also remember that you looked horrified... and that you killed someone, broke their neck right in front of me." Ciel murmurs. He can see everything replaying through his mind as he says it.

Sebastian's fingers pause for a moment on the button just above Ciel's navel as he glances up at the boy but he's quick to recover and unbutton the shirt fully.

"That sounds about right. We had left London for quite some time but eventually you wanted to return. You wished to revisit to your old mansion, just to see how it was doing, however I wouldn't let you. You ordered me to wait at the hotel and allow you to return to your mansion. When you returned to your mansion, there was a man waiting there for you." Sebastian says.

Ciel's breath hitches as he relives the memory, Sebastian's words freeing the memory. Sebastian pushes the shirt off of Ciel's small shoulders and it falls to the mattress slowly, the fine material pooling around the young boy.

"The man considered himself a 'slayer of the supernatural'. He'd made a deal with a shinigami and received a sword that extracted the soul from its victim. He-"

"He used that sword on me." Ciel interrupts. He reaches out and grabs Sebastian's shirt because he can see it all unfolding before him.

Ciel can see the man smiling wickedly and can feel getting stabbed by the sword, feel it going through his middle, directly above his navel. He can feel himself falling backwards slowly, hitting the floor with a thud as he realizes that he's not going to live.

"Yes. Because you weren't born a demon the sword was able to extract your soul, something even I couldn't do." Sebastian replies. Ciel's eyes are unfocused as he relives his past and Sebastian wishes he could stop the child from seeing it.

"Even you couldn't save me." Ciel whispers. He's shaking and Sebastian pulls the child closer to him, Ciel automatically clinging to him. The boy doesn't have a shirt on and if he didn't have such a terrified expression on his face it might've distracted Sebastian.

"I'm afraid I was too late... " Sebastian says.

He doesn't have to though because Ciel can see it. He watches as Sebastian enters the room, his expression changing multiple times in a short time frame before he walks over to the 'slayer of the supernatural' and breaks his neck. The man hasn't even hit the floor before Sebastian's at his side.

_"Little master."_ Sebastian whispers, his voice quite and reverent. Ciel's looking at Sebastian now, who's holding him on a hotel bed in France, and the same Sebastian, cradling him on the floor of his mansion as he dies.

_"Don't worry; I don't think you're going to die from this."_ Ciel says in the past. He's quiet in the present, trying not to cry at the recollection of the pain.

_"My lord... I fear... "_ Sebastian doesn't finish his statement and he doesn't have to. His brow's furrowed and Ciel touches it lightly, wanting that harsh look to leave his features. A similar expression is on the demon's face in the present.

_"You shouldn't be fearing anything. You're on my side; we can't show weakness."_ Ciel says. He coughs weakly, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes as it makes the wound in his stomach bleed more.

_"Although I don't think you'll have to worry about that much longer."_ Ciel murmurs. Sebastian reaches out and touches Ciel's face gently, his fingertips grazing against Ciel's cheekbone. Ciel can't even see the hotel room anymore, can only see the two Sebastian's, one in the past and one in the present.

_"Will I see you in hell?"_ Ciel questions. He's weakly holding onto the lapel of Sebastian's coat, as if he wants to take him with him.

_"My lord, I'm not sure where you're going."_ Sebastian replies.

_"Ah. In that case, the sin I offered... won't... "_ Ciel doesn't finish his sentence.

"Little master?" Sebastian questions in the present his voice making Ciel let out a sob. He presses the back of his palm against his mouth to stifle his cries and just shakes against Sebastian, trying to calm down.

"You're not there. You're here in Paris in 2013. You're human again." Sebastian says. He's rubbing Ciel's back and Ciel only allows it because it actually does feel like it's calming him a little. Sebastian marvels at the smoothness of Ciel's skin, up close and intimate.

"Human again?" Ciel questions weakly. "I have no recollection of that."

"My lord, do you mean you don't remember anything from your previous life?" Sebastian asks.

"I wasn't aware that I was a human in my previous life; I only remember being a demon." Ciel says. He's still shaking slightly, quivering against Sebastian.

"What is your earliest memory?" Sebastian questions. The demon's still holding onto Ciel, keeping him close. He can feel the fine tremors running through the boy's body.

"I... it's the two of us in a field of black and white roses. We're leaving... London, maybe? You don't seem too pleased with me. You wanted to know where to go but I said it didn't matter; we'd be together no matter what." Ciel replies. His nose is resting against Sebastian's shoulder and his voice reverberates _through_ Sebastian.

"I see. You don't remember anything from your human life, just your demonic one. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe you won't be able to remember your entire past... " Sebastian trails off, sounding unsure.

"I'm not sure I could handle it." Ciel admits. It's one of those rare moments where he actually opens up to Sebastian, thoughts leaving his mind and mouth quicker than they ever would if he weren't experiencing some kind of emotional turmoil.

Instead of relishing in this fact, Sebastian pulls the boy closer to him.

Ciel shifts so his arms are around Sebastian's neck and he raises one hand up to the back of Sebastian's head, lightly threading his fingers through the soft hair. It's soothing and helps Ciel's breathing return to normal and he no longer feels like crying.

He hates that he's so weak right now but the memory of his own death was horrifically frightening, blood covering his hands and Sebastian's face...

He doesn't even want to think about it.

Sebastian's still gently rubbing his back and Ciel permits it while he thinks of ways he can use his newfound memory to his advantage.

He now remembers all of his life as a demon but none as a human. He isn't sure how that will help him in the present but it does help him understand his relationship with Sebastian a little better.

"Sebastian... this has obviously been very shocking for me to relive. Nevertheless, we're still going to visit my Aunt Angeline today." Ciel informs the demon. He pulls away from Sebastian and looks at him, cyan meeting crimson.

"I'm not sure-"

"I know it's not the best of ideas but I can't just lay around because a memory has shaken me. There are plans I need to execute and things that need to be done." Ciel interrupts.

"My lord, I honestly-"

"Sebastian." Ciel says in a voice that lacks hesitation. He sounds normal again, his voice inflectionless and his expression aloof. Sebastian's pleased that the boy hasn't broken yet, hasn't begged...

_This is Ciel Phantomhive, he won't beg nor relent control._

"Understood." Sebastian replies. He's answering Ciel and his own thought.

Sebastian finishes dressing Ciel without further comment.


	21. Chapter 21

"And you're absolutely positive that it's okay?" Ciel questions.

He's talking to his Aunt on his iPhone and Sebastian listens absentmindedly, ensuring that all the boy's belongings are in his suitcase.

"Alright. Yes, We'll be there in a few." Ciel says, hanging up the phone.

"Sebastian, we'll be staying with Aunt Angeline for the remainder of our stay here in France. I've explained to her that you are currently working under me as a new servant."

"Very good, young master." Sebastian murmurs. He moves the child's luggage from the armchair and opens the curtains, returning the room to its original state.

"Let's go." Ciel says, leading the way out of the hotel room.

They take yet another taxi, this time to Puteaux where Ciel's aunt is currently residing.

Sebastian isn't very pleased that he and the boy are going to be spending time with _other_ people.

On this trip so far it's just been the two of them and the demon certainly prefers it that way. He glances over at Ciel and wonders how he could possibly share this child.

"Sebastian, staring is rather uncomely." Ciel murmurs. He doesn't turn to look at the demon and Sebastian finds it amusing that Ciel can feel his eyes on him.

"Hm. Perhaps you are correct." Sebastian replies. He doesn't look away from Ciel and he wonders if the child will snap under the weight of his stare, his fragile bones breaking.

"Vous êtes ici." The driver says, announcing their arrival.

"Merci." Sebastian says graciously.

He keeps a hand on Ciel's back, guiding him through the crowd of people around them. Ciel allows it without complaint, drifting closer to Sebastian as he often does in overwhelming crowds.

"Aunt Angeline's currently living in a chateau she recently had renovated." Ciel informs Sebastian, leading the way towards an enormous brick building that Sebastian assumes is Ciel's aunt's manor. It looks splendid and as if most of the original architecture was kept. The driveway has a large black gate at the edge and Ciel has to press a code into a small little black box for the gates to open.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to lead a demon into your aunt's house?" Sebastian muses, smiling down at the child he's so keen on.

"You're a tame demon, Sebastian." Ciel replies. Sebastian finds it incredibly charming that the boy stumbles on the first step leading up to the enormous house and then blushes.

"I don't know why you still hold onto that belief." Sebastian murmurs. He grabs the small boy's elbow to catch him when he nearly falls on the stairs a second time.

"There are many instances where you have made it quite obvious that you are not as... insidious as you appear to be. For example, you just now helped me up the stairs rather than let me fall." Ciel replies. They're at the top of the stairs now.

Sebastian realizes that his hand is still on the boy's elbow. Instead of removing it, he merely tightens his grip on the boy and pulls him closer.

"I wouldn't hold faith in things you're mildly certain of. Especially when you don't have a mark of the covenant." Sebastian says, leaning down close to Ciel.

There's a certain undertone to Sebastian's words that makes Ciel shiver. He's had doubts that Sebastian was as tame as he'd previously assumed, especially as of late, and his words only seem to further Ciel's theory that Sebastian isn't as domesticized as he'd thought.

They seem to strike a cord within Ciel, make him pause. Should he really not bring Sebastian into his aunt's house?

The front door suddenly swings open and Sebastian straightens, releasing Ciel from his hold.

"Ciel!" There's a flurry of red and then his aunt's arms are wrapped around him, squeezing him tightly. It's obvious that Ciel's aunt has no idea that her nephew is currently 'missing' or that there's a search being conducted for him.

"Aunt Angeline!" Ciel returns, more exasperated than pleased. He can barely see Sebastian over his aunt's shoulder but he can make out the smirk on the demon's face.

"I'm sorry, I know you're not fond of hugs but I've missed you so much. I haven't seen you in at least a year." Ciel's aunt says. She's a middle-aged woman, red hair along with a red dress paired with red lipstick.

Some people would call it fashion sense, Sebastian would call it overkill.

"And is this your new help?" Angeline questions, moving over to Sebastian and holding out a hand for him to shake.

"My, you're far younger than I'd imagined. What's your name?"

"Sebastian, Madame." Sebastian responds, kissing her hand.

"What manners! Where did you happen to find this fine gentleman?" Angeline questions, a blush dusting her cheekbones.

"He actually found me. Now, if you're done getting acquainted with him, may we please go inside?" Ciel questions, his tone cross. Sebastian would like to think that it's jealousy coating the boy's voice but it's probably the fact that his aunt is fawning over a demon.

"Of course. You're probably hungry. I'll have Monique make you something to eat." Angeline says as she moves inside. Ciel motions for Sebastian to grab his bag and then follows her into the chateau.

It's a beautiful mansion, the interior not nearly as antique as the exterior, but still holding some of the old grandeur. There's a lot of modern and angular furniture that looks like it's more for atmosphere rather than comfort and Angeline's taste is far different from what Ciel finds pleasing but he doesn't entirely hate the décor.

"Sebastian, you can take the bags upstairs to Ciel's room. You'll be sleeping across from his room because I simply don't have any other guest rooms available. Most of the guest rooms are currently under renovation." Angeline says.

"That is not a problem, Madame." Sebastian responds with a smile. He moves upstairs with Ciel's suitcase and as soon as he's up the stairs, he hears Angeline's voice.

"Why didn't you tell me he was so young? And attractive? Good lord, do you not know your own aunt at all?" Angeline demands. She doesn't really sound cross but surprised.

Sebastian chuckles and doesn't listen to Ciel's response.

The room Ciel will be staying in is large, with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, along with a mahogany dresser and a bathroom attached. It seems to suit the child in some way, the elegance of the room reminding Sebastian of the fragile boy.

His room is directly across from Ciel's and is very similar to the young boy's, the only difference being that there is no bathroom attached to his.

He moves back downstairs slowly and quietly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself. He steps through the ornate archways and finds Ciel and Angeline sitting at an enormous table, Ciel eating.

"There you are, Sebastian." Angeline says, smiling up at the man.

"Yes. Aunt Angeline was just wondering why we were in France. Would you like to do the honors of explaining our visit to her?" Ciel questions, tilting his head back in a similar manner to his aunt's.

"Of course." Sebastian replies. Ciel had already told him the story to tell his aunt and now all he had to do was recite it from memory.

"Your nephew has received a new lead in the deaths of his parents and he is following that lead here. I am here to assist him, of course." Sebastian responds.

"Oh... I see." Angeline replies, sounding sad. "Ciel, I thought I'd told you that I didn't want you to be doing things like this... I want you to have a good childhood, one free of murder investigations and the like."

"Aunt Angeline. I've told you before that I do not wish to be a child, I wish to solve my parents' murders and find out who sullied the Phantomhive name." Ciel returns.

"I want that as much as you do but there are professionals we can go to that will solve this." Angeline says, looking at Ciel with a saddened gaze.

"It's been four years. The FBI has barely uncovered anything and hasn't brought anything into light that I couldn't have found myself. I have found more information in these past few days than the FBI has found in years." Ciel says.

"Well, we could hire others... I just don't want you to go through what your father did." Angeline murmurs.

"There is no way to know that my father died because of his close ties to federal institutions. It's a mere theory. Your worries are pointless; I will not befall the same fate as my father." Ciel responds. His voice is authoritative and matter-of-fact as he recounts events from his past.

"Ciel, I won't allow it. You're only fourteen." Angeline says, taking a stand of her own.

"If you truly won't allow me to investigate then I'm sorry to say we'll be staying somewhere else." Ciel sighs, moving to stand from his chair.

"Oh, you stubborn little boy! Fine, do what you want. Just... please, be careful." Angeline mutters, sounding all for the world like an aggravated mother.

"I always am. Now, if you'll excuse us, there is some information Sebastian and I have to review." Ciel replies.

He goes upstairs and Sebastian follows.

Ciel bathes and then puts a robe on over his pajamas, climbing under the covers before they begin reviewing what they know. They'll be speaking to Abberline over Skype tomorrow and Ciel wants to make sure that he's familiar with all the information.

"Are you sick, my lord?" Sebastian questions. He places a palm on the boy's forehead to take his temperature.

"No. I'm just cold." Ciel replies.

"Very well. Should I fetch you a hot beverage?" Sebastian asks.

"No. Let's just begin reviewing our information." Ciel says. He pulls out the papers Abberline had given him, telling Sebastian to read them aloud to him while he takes notes on his laptop.

There's the steady click of keys for a few minutes but when they stop for a long period of time Sebastian pauses reading the reports and glances up at Ciel.

His eyes are closed, breathing even as he sleeps. Sebastian pulls the laptop off the boy's lap and closes it, placing it on the edge of the bed. He pulls the blankets up closer around the child and turns to leave the room but Ciel's voice beckons him back.

"Sebastian?" He questions groggily.

"Yes, little master?" Sebastian responds.

"Stay." Ciel orders, gesturing towards the armchair in the corner.

"Of course, my lord." Sebastian replies.

Ciel falls asleep with ease, as comfortable as ever with a demon at the foot of his bed.


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning, Ciel wakes up to find Sebastian sitting in the armchair he'd appointed him to last night.

"Good morning, little master." Sebastian says, rising from the armchair. Ciel simply looks at Sebastian, his eyes still half-lidded with sleep.

"It appears it was far too late for you to review any information last night so we'll have to go over it again today." Sebastian murmurs with a coy smile.

"Shut up." Ciel grumbles, shifting up onto his elbows. "We'll review it over breakfast."

There's a knock at Ciel's door and after he calls 'enter', Angeline's maid enters.

"I'm sorry to intrude. Miss Angeline had just told me to inform you that she won't be here for the remainder of the day. She has to meet a client in Milan but she wanted you to know that I'm here to cater to your needs." The maid, Monique, says.

"Thank you." Ciel responds, giving her a smile as she exits the room.

"This will work to our advantage. I'll eat breakfast downstairs in the dining room where we'll review the information and then contact Abberline via Skype." Ciel says.

"Skype?" Sebastian questions.

"It's a voice-over-IP service and instant messaging client." Ciel replies. He pushes the covers back and climbs out of bed, leaving his spacious bedroom and heading downstairs.

"My lord, I'm not exactly clear as to what a voice-over-IP service is." Sebastian says as he follows Ciel downstairs. It seems like he's always following this boy, his claws just barely missing the child in some twisted game of follow the leader.

"Sebastian, it merely means that I can video chat with Abberline." Ciel huffs. He sits down at the breakfast table swiftly, crossing his legs and then throwing a glance at Sebastian.

Sebastian remains standing as Monique comes in and asks Ciel what he'd like for breakfast. The boy's incredibly polite to her as he asks for French toast and Sebastian isn't sure if it's because of her gender or that he really can be quite the agreeable child.

Ciel eats his breakfast while Sebastian reads through the reports, occasionally asking Sebastian to elaborate. Once he's done he asks Sebastian to fetch his laptop while Monique clears the table.

Sebastian places the laptop in front of the boy and Ciel's quick to turn it on, entering multiple passwords to various accounts with ease. He's obviously extremely comfortable with computers and Sebastian abstractedly wonders how long the boy spent learning the inner workings of the internet.

Ciel goes to Skype and enters in his account information, logging on and contacting Abberline.

"Shouldn't you be contacting each other over a more secure website?" Sebastian questions suddenly.

"Sebastian, this is a _very_- Abberline." Ciel shifts gears as soon as he sees the investigator.

"Ciel. It's nice to talk to you again. You too." Abberline says, gesturing to Sebastian.

"Ignore him," Ciel orders, commanding Abberline to ignore Sebastian.

"Now, tell me what you found."

"Well, since you contacted me I've been able to dig up some information on both of the cases that interested you." Abberline says. He pauses for a moment until Ciel gestures for him to continue.

"The man that was proven innocent is known as Kelvin, last name I think, and he's currently residing in France. The other person hadn't even been investigated until an hour ago. I was only able to find their IP address so far. I can continue digging up more information on them if you want." Abberline offers.

"No, I'll take over from here. Thank you very much Abberline. Email me the IP address. And please, remain available in case I need to contact you." Ciel says.

"Of course. And Ciel, please be careful." Abberline murmurs. Sebastian can't help but note that a lot of people have been warning Ciel to take caution.

"Of course. I'll be in touch eventually." Ciel says, signing off. He closes his laptop and then turns to look at Sebastian.

"Sebastian. We need to-"

"Ciel, I have a surprise for you!" Angeline's voice calls from the doorway. A brief look of annoyance crosses the child's face but he's quick to hide it from his aunt.

"What is it?" Ciel questions sans enthusiasm. Angeline struts into the room carrying various bags undoubtedly from a shopping expedition she undertook during her time spent in Milan. She's wearing a red dress with a red overcoat.

"We're going to go see Noah's Ark Circus! It's their last day here and I bought tickets!" Angeline says, obviously excited. Sebastian glances away from Ciel to look at Angeline and he misses the brief look of recognition on the child's face.

"Why? I told you that I'm investigating and I don't have time to-"

"Nonsense. Now, you're staying here with me and I want you to have a good time in France." Angeline interrupts. "You're all I have left and I want to see you happy."

Ciel can't argue with that but he can complain about it to Sebastian as the demon dresses him.

"What a waste of time. There is so much we could be doing rather than going to this bloody circus." Ciel complains as Sebastian helps him into his shirt.

"My lord, I could perform one of the tasks you need completed while you sit with your aunt and enjoy the circus." Sebastian offers. Ciel glances at the demon, his mouth a thin line.

"No. I don't like it. I want to do it myself or at the very least be with you when you do it. So, for now, we'll assuage Aunt Angeline's worries and go to the circus." Ciel sighs. He stands from the bed and grabs his phone, unplugging it from the charger and shoving it into his pocket.

Sebastian drives to the circus, using directions from Angeline's GPS.

She sits up front with Sebastian and Ciel sits in the back, arms crossed as he glares out the window.

He doesn't want to be at the circus when he's just gained substantial evidence on his parent's murders. He wants to be using that evidence to get closer to solving the murders.

Ciel only has one name to go on at the moment, Kelvin, but it's an oddly familiar one. He's not sure where he heard it before, maybe his dad mentioned it in passing, however he's positive that he _has_ heard it before.

"Oh yes, Ciel is quite the cutie. I'll have to show you some of his baby pictures." Angeline exclaims, practically cooing as she glances back at Ciel.

"Absolutely not!" Ciel exclaims. There's no way in _hell_ Sebastian's getting near those pictures.

"Oh, don't be like that. You've always been adorable. You still haven't grown out of that stage." Angeline says.

"Tch." Ciel responds.

"Don't be so modest, little master." Sebastian replies. He looks at Ciel in the rear view mirror and Ciel glares at the demon when their eyes meet.

Ciel can see the demon's red eyes, then his nose, and lastly his mouth as he leans back in his seat, unnaturally white teeth on display.

"You see, there you have it. Ciel- oh look. Here we are." Angeline says, pointing towards a huge expanse of cars parked around a large field that has multiple striped tents placed on the grounds.

"Just park over there, Sebastian." Angeline says. Sebastian glides the car over to where Angeline's indicating. Ciel's the first out of the car, the step out being a slight jump for him, Angeline and Sebastian quick to follow.

"So, what do you want to do first? I think besides the acts and everything they have a few games you can play and some snacks you can eat. Are you still fond of sweets?" Angeline questions Ciel.

"I don't care. And yes, I still enjoy sweets." Ciel responds. He wonders if they actually have any sweets of good quality. He'd been to the circus once, when he was young, and they only had cotton candy, something he'd found lacked substance and wasn't very good.

"Well, I guess we'll just walk around for a bit. I don't think the show actually starts for a half hour or so." Angeline mutters, pulling her phone out of her purse to check the time. Ciel sighs and moves so he's in between Sebastian and his aunt.

The three of them walk around the fair grounds, Ciel taking in the sites with an apathetic gaze.

There are multiple stalls out, vendors running games and selling items. There's even a Funtom stand out which makes Sebastian smirk.

"Oh, Ciel. Did you set that up?" Aunt Angeline questions as she gestures to the stand.

"No, I'm sure one of the lower level employees did. I don't oversee little events like these, especially ones in foreign countries." Ciel replies. If he actually had the time or cared, he might attempt to oversee some of these events.

"Hm. Well, the products you continue to make seem to be selling rather well." Angeline murmurs. There are a large amount of children carrying around some of Funtom's more popular toys.

Ciel doesn't comment because at that moment a man with dark brown fuzzy hair bumps into him, knocking his glasses off and Ciel to the ground.

"I'm sorry." The man says automatically, glancing down at Ciel. He offers Ciel a hand but Sebastian is quick to pick Ciel up and dust the dirt from his clothes.

"It's fine." Ciel replies. The man's eyes linger on Ciel for a moment, flicker to Sebastian and then he's gone.

"Well, that was... "Angeline trails off. She's decidedly undecided on her choice of words.

"Indeed." Sebastian replies. He stares after the man and Ciel's suddenly aware of the fact that Sebastian's still holding him. He opens his mouth to voice this when a loud voice announces that it's show time.

"Well, we'd best be getting to the main tent, shouldn't we?" Angeline questions. She leads the way with a smile.

Sebastian releases Ciel and Ciel follows after his aunt, hoping that this event will be over quickly. It's a dark day, the sky overcast, and even though it's relatively early the darkness has a night-like quality to it. It has that same kind of drawing-to-a-close feeling that happens at the end of every day.

The wind picks up suddenly, nearly blowing the hat off of Angeline's head and causing leaves to scrape against the concrete pathways.

Ciel doesn't believe in omens, but then again he used to not believe in demons.

_Things have obviously changed,_ he thinks bitterly as Sebastian steers him into the correct tent with a hand on his shoulder.


	23. Chapter 23

The circus doesn't disappoint, the show obviously well done and the performers well trained.

The only thing that suprises Ciel is the age of the performers.

There is only one adult and the rest of the performers are kids; two or three of them seem younger than Ciel. There's one teen who looks like he's close to adulthood, and then two small children along with one girl who might be younger than Ciel by a year or so.

Their acts are interesting to watch and Ciel would've probably enjoyed them as a child but now he finds that he's not interested.

Angeline enjoys the performances quite a lot but Sebastian seems just as bored as he does. The demon doesn't show any interest until a female performer by the name of Beast comes out.

She's doing something or other with a tiger, Ciel's not really paying attention, but he does notice Sebastian perk up when the woman walks out, tiger trailing beside her.

At first Ciel thinks it's the woman that has captured the demon's attention with her promiscuous appearance but after a moment he realizes that it's the tiger that's got his attention.

"Are you staring at that glorified house cat?" Ciel demands. He wants to be positive that Sebastian is actually staring at the tiger rather than the salacious woman.

"Of course. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Sebastian murmurs. Ciel looks over at Sebastian's entranced expression and he laughs, wondering why a demon would have an affinity for a large _cat_.

Angeline glances over at her nephew in surprise and can't hide her smile at his laugh. She just wanted to see him enjoy himself a little.

The show ends with all of the performers taking a bow and Sebastian attempting to walk through the crowd to approach the cat only for Ciel to reprimand him.

"Oh, Ciel, you should let him see the tiger or at least the performer." Angeline murmurs, sounding amused.

"Absolutely not. The idiot would get hurt or worse. Besides, we have business to attend to." Ciel replies. Angeline sighs but concedes, following Ciel and his ever faithful servant out of the tent and into the crowd of people in front of it.

Sebastian leads the way back to the car and Ciel has to grab onto the back of the demon's jacket a few times to keep from being separated from him. Angeline seems to have no problem staying with Sebastian, seeing as how she'd linked an arm through his.

Ciel sighs and continues walking behind the two of them, looking just like a forlorn child.

When they reach the car Sebastian has to help Ciel into the large SUV, a process that Ciel had seriously hoped wouldn't have to be repeated. It had been bad enough the first time.

Once everyone's actually in the car, Sebastian starts the car and backs out of the parking lot.

_For a demon, he sure does drive at an infuriatingly slow pace. _

On the way back to Angeline's chateau they stop for ice cream, something Ciel isn't bitter about in the least. Even Sebastian gets ice cream cone although Ciel knows he won't derive any pleasure out of it.

When they finally arrive back at Angeline's, Sebastian opens the door for Angeline like the gentleman he pretends to be.

"Why, thank you. Will you two be joining me for dinner?" Angeline questions.

"I'm sorry to say we won't. We'll be retiring for the night. Come, Sebastian." Ciel says. He starts up the stairs and doesn't falter once this time.

"My lord, are you not hungry-"

"Sebastian, we'll speak once we're in my room." Ciel replies. He tilts his head in a friendly manner to the maid as he passes her in the hallway to his room.

_Really, now. He appears to be such a pleasant child when he wants to be..._

Ciel enters his bedroom and closes the door, leaning against it and turning to look at Sebastian.

Sebastian feels amused at the boy's unusual behavior and he wonders what exactly is causing the boy to act so... odd.

"Sebastian... I'd like it if you wouldn't encourage my aunt's... advances." Ciel mutters.

"Advances?" Sebastian questions.

"Had you not noticed?" Ciel returns.

"No, I can honestly say I hadn't." Sebastian replies. Ciel's mouth twitches with a sardonic smile but he's quick to suppress it.

"Good. Well, she was trying to get you to notice her all day. _Apparently_, it wasn't working. Let's keep it that way. Am I understood, Sebastian?" Ciel asks, pushing off of the door and moving over to his bed.

"Yes, you are." The demon replies. He can't help but smile at the child's behavior. After a beat, "Is the little master jealous?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Sebastian." Ciel snaps. He sounds agitated, his mouth pulled down in a thin little line. Sebastian wants to kiss that mouth.

"As you wish, little master. Will you be reviewing information tonight?" Sebastian questions.

"Yes, get my laptop." Ciel commands. Sebastian places the laptop on the foot of the bed and Ciel crawls to the end of the bed, flopping down on his stomach. He opens the laptop but doesn't do as much typing as scrolling this time. It probably would be easier to work at a desk but he doesn't seem to mind too much.

Sebastian remains standing where he is, watching Ciel's face as he undoubtedly discovers even more information on Kelvin and the IP address he's currently investigating. The boy's expression remains languid until he scans another page and his eyes widen, those large eyes appearing even larger in the light of the computer screen.

"My lord?" Sebastian questions, wondering what's caused the child's expression.

"Kelvin... he's the sponsor of Noah's Ark Circus." Ciel murmurs weakly. He passes a hand over his eyes, as if this is too much, and then sits up swiftly.

"All that time, we could've been investigating, if I'd only _known_." Ciel hisses.

"Tonight was their last show in France. I believe they're going back to London tomorrow. I'm certain that they've already packed up and moved on out... they don't seem like the type to linger unwanted." Sebastian responds.

Ciel looks up at him in surprise and he's probably weighing his options, deciding what's the best move. The boy's deliciously analytical.

"Unwanted?" Ciel questions.

"They were here a few years ago but were kicked out due to the tiger ripping off one of the performer's prosthetic limbs during a show." Sebastian replies.

"You know them?" Ciel demands, moving over to the very edge of the bed in case he needs to hit Sebastian.

"No. I heard about the incident from an acquaintance when I was looking for you." Sebastian replies. It's the first time that he's mentioned the fact that he actually searched for Ciel and it's enough for Ciel to not be mad at him for withholding slight information.

"Hm. Well, what course of action should we take? I doubt we'll be able to catch them tonight. Should we try to meet them in London at their next show?" Ciel questions. He's well-aware of the fact that he's not really asking for Sebastian's opinion... he's asking for his _permission_.

London is obviously a touchy subject for Sebastian, seeing as how he's been keen on keeping Ciel away from there from the beginning. Ciel isn't sure if Sebastian will actually allow him to go or not.

"I know you're now certain of the fact that I don't want you returning to London." Sebastian murmurs. "However, you did ask that I permit you to do so if it was required of you so I suppose it would be the next best move to make."

Sebastian feels shaky like he did at Chambers' mansion when Ciel had been kissing him with feverish lips. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to control Ciel but... it does feel nice to have the boy ask him for _permission_. No, he wouldn't mind hearing this boy beg, not in the least.

"Very good. I'll have to prepare the tickets and tell Aunt Angeline. She'll be disappointed." Ciel mutters distractedly as he moves off the bed. He's about to leave the room but Sebastian grabs the boy's thin arm and stops him.

"While in London, take care not to contact anyone you know." Sebastian says. It's not fierce or even heated and Ciel wonders what would happen if he disobeyed Sebastian's one command, his single stipulation.

"Should I elaborate or do you understand the necessity of this?" Sebastian questions. He drags a black fingernail down the side of Ciel's throat, making him shiver.

Their faces are impossibly close and Ciel imagines kissing Sebastian for the second time in far too short a time frame. This time though, Ciel knows what Sebastian's lips would feel like. Ciel would initiate it this time and would make sure that he was in control, would reverse their positions, pressing Sebastian against the wall instead of vice versa.

"I understand." Ciel replies, interrupting his idiotic hormone-driven fantasies. He loathes being a teenager, especially around this specific poison devil.

"Good. Then, leave the preparations to me. First class again?" Sebastian offers, pulling his phone out of his pocket. He's gotten quite good at working the small device, all thanks to Ciel's coaching.

"No, we won't be flying this time. I can't afford to pay for plane tickets left and right. We'll just take the Eurostar from here to Ebbsfleet and then drive to London." Ciel replies. Sebastian knows it's a lie, of course the child can afford plane tickets left and right, but he doesn't argue with his little master.

"Also, I'll be showering tonight which means that I don't require your assistance. Once you are finished buying the tickets you may retire to your room for the night." Ciel says.

He leaves the door to the bathroom open as he undresses and gets in the shower, considering it punishment for Sebastian. Well, that and the train trip rather than a comfortable first class flight.

Ciel's feels like he needs to punish Sebastian even though the demon's not putting these fantasies in his mind.

It aggravates Ciel to no end that Sebastian can looks so damn... _lecherous_ when he's not even doing anything even slightly erotic. It's idiotic and horribly unfair because Ciel's almost positive that he's never looked even remotely lecherous.

_Stupid demons_, Ciel thinks crossly as he gets out of the shower. He doesn't bother paying particular care to drying off, just wraps the towel around his waist and goes back into the small bedroom.

There's tea waiting for him on the small desk in the corner of the room, still warm.


	24. Chapter 24

Ciel spends the entirety of the train ride listening to music while he works on decoding information from the IP address Abberline had given him.

Angeline had insisted on coming with him back to London and Ciel had attempted to put his foot down, but his aunt was an adult and would come with him with or without his permission. There was no help for it.

Ciel and Sebastian sit on one side of the small table, Angeline on the other. She occasionally tries to make small talk but Sebastian's not one for it and Ciel's attempting to block the both of them out so he can concentrate.

The music helps him stay on task but that isn't really yielding very many results.

At the very least, the IP address should give Ciel a general idea of the location of the user. There should be a HTML code or _something_. Nothing shows up, not a single thing and Ciel's extremely aggravated to find that over the course of their two hour train ride he hasn't found anything out about the user.

"Any luck?" Sebastian questions, leaning down close to Ciel. They exit the train in a small group.

"Unfortunately not. IP addresses rarely give out a lot of information but this one doesn't give out anything. I'll have to contact Abberline again and find out if he gave me a few wrong digits or something." Ciel sighs.

Angeline's obviously a little nonplussed so she changes the subject to ask if Ciel wants to go somewhere for lunch. Ciel agrees because Noah's Ark Circus will be in London for one week. Today Ciel's going to visit an informant that was close to his father.

"So, why are we staying in a hotel again?" Angeline questions. She's still blissfully unaware of the search going on for Ciel.

They're all sitting around a circular table in a Starbucks, munching on what Angeline would call lunch and what Ciel would call a snack. Sebastian doesn't get food today.

"It's just more convenient while I'm investigating. If I go back home there's the chance that someone from school or someone I know will see me and question where I've been for the past two weeks." Ciel replies.

He doesn't mention that he isn't allowed to speak to anyone he actually knows. It's irrelevant and a secret best kept between himself and Sebastian.

"Well, I still don't like this whole investigating business. When I was your age I certainly wasn't doing all this." Angeline says, waving her right hand around to encompass Ciel's activities.

"Need I remind you that our situations are different?" Ciel questions. He's sipping on a latte of some kind, swirling his straw around in an attempt to mix the drink with the whipped cream.

"No, I suppose not. Well, you'd best head to the hotel. Are you taking a taxi?" Angeline asks.

"Yes, we're-" Ciel's voice is suddenly overpowered as Angeline interrupts.

"Well I'll just meet you at the hotel. I'll call you when I'm close so you can give me the room number and unlock the door for me. I have some business to attend to." Angeline murmurs. She's outside with her phone to her ear before Ciel can respond.

"Well." Sebastian murmurs. He slips the plastic cup out of Ciel's grasp and takes a drink from the straw. Ciel glares at the demon and just tells him to throw it away when he offers it back to Ciel.

Sebastian's favorite thing to do has to be taunting this slip of a boy.

"Shall we go to the hotel?" Sebastian questions as Ciel walks out of the coffee shop.

"No. I want to get an outfit for tomorrow that's relatively forgettable, something a little more bland than usual." Ciel replies. He scans over Sebastian's attire with his eyes. "You should probably get a new outfit as well."

They hail a cab and head to the closest mall which is still far away enough from the RBKC that the chances of Ciel running into anyone that he actually knows are extremely slim.

Ciel walks through the rows of clothes with purpose, handing Sebastian various outfits for the both of them. They each leave the store with two outfits, Ciel with two pairs of dark wash jeans and two different shirts and Sebastian with two pairs of slacks and two dress shirts. Whatever the charade, Sebastian will probably still be pretending to be a servant... of sorts.

"That took a little longer than expected. We need to get to the hotel and then meet my informant." Ciel informs Sebastian.

They take yet another taxi to their hotel and get their room number, 321, quickly dropping off their outfits and Ciel's luggage.

Ciel leads the way out of the hotel, Sebastian's familiar presence just behind him. He's like a ghost in that regard, like a shadow.

"My informant works in a morgue extremely close to my house near Knightsbridge." Ciel murmurs in the taxi to Sebastian. "We'll have to take care to not be seen."

Sebastian wonders why Ciel is taking such caution to heed his rule. It makes things easier on Sebastian certainly but he doesn't understand the reasoning behind it. Ciel isn't gaining anything by remaining in the shadows, refusing to contact people he knows.

The taxi drops them off in front of a small little building, morgue labeled on it in a gothic font.

"I wasn't aware that morgues were run outside of a hospital nowadays." Sebastian says as they walk towards the building.

"They aren't." Ciel replies. And then, "Undertaker!"

Sebastian and Ciel move into the back of the building, Ciel walking around as if he's been here multiple times. The inside is dark and dusty but it looks like a normal house littered with coffins rather than a morgue.

"Oh, little Phantomhive. Quite some time has passed since your last visit." A voice murmurs and suddenly a man walks in from around a corner. The lighting in the room is terrible but Sebastian knows who it is immediately. He doesn't voice that he's met the Shinigami before.

"Yes, I'm sorry for that. This is Sebastian." Ciel says, gesturing to the demon and sitting down at a small table. Undertaker takes the only other available seat and Sebastian stands behind Ciel.

"Oh, yes. I do believe I've met Master Butler before." Undertaker says, waving his long fingernails at Sebastian.

"You've met?" Ciel demands, turning around to look at Sebastian.

"Certainly. He's quite the... interesting fellow." Undertaker giggles. "Now, you were here for information on 'the father', correct?"

"Yes." Ciel replies. He has a slight sense of unease in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, I do hope that you're aware that 'the father' and Kelvin are the same person." Undertaker says.

"No, I wasn't aware of that." Ciel huffs.

"Honestly, Master Butler could've told you that." Undertaker says. Sebastian narrows his eyes at the Shinigami, wondering why he's attempting to plant doubts in Ciel's mind.

"Regardless, they are the same. You haven't met Kelvin yet, have you?" Undertaker questions.

He leans forward, resting his elbows against the table, and touches Ciel's cheek with his long fingernails. Sebastian has to resist the urge to grab Ciel's shoulder and pull him away from the touch.

"No. Noah's Ark Circus is here for a week. We'll be going preferably tomorrow where I'll hopefully be meeting the man." Ciel responds. He has a pinched expression on his face, as if he's worried.

"Oh, no, no. I wouldn't be hoping to meet that man if I were you. He has quite the... fixation with you." Undertaker murmurs. His words send an unpleasant chill down Ciel's spine and he swallows, leaning away from the informant.

"What kind of fixation?" Ciel questions irritably.

"Hm. I'd say he idolizes you in a way. He thinks you are the only child worth bothering with. However, he also wants to do some _extremely_ unsavory things to you and _with_ you. Wouldn't you agree Master Butler?" Undertaker questions.

He tilts his head towards Sebastian, as if he's looking at him, but Ciel can't really see the man's eyes due to his long hair.

"Sebastian's never met the man, so I'm afraid he wouldn't know." Ciel says.

"Don't let him fool you, little Phantomhive. Don't you know you shouldn't trust a devil?" Undertaker laughs.

Ciel narrows his eyes because he's not sure what Undertaker's trying to insinuate.

"Are you trying to say he's been lying to me?" Ciel demands. Sebastian can tell by the slope of Ciel's shoulders that this isn't going to end without some yelling.

"Hm. I'm not positive. I believe it's more of _omitting_ rather than downright lying. He hasn't told you that we've met before, nor that he's met Kelvin... I wonder who else he's met that you should know about... " Undertaker trails off but the damage is already done.

"Sebastian... is this true?" Ciel asks. His eyes are locked on Sebastian's, staring him down.

"My lord, I can ensure you that I haven't omitted anything with ill will towards you." Sebastian replies.

"But you have omitted things?" Ciel reiterates. He normally wouldn't take others words too seriously but Ciel's father had trusted Undertaker with everything... and so Ciel trusts Undertaker with everything.

"Indirectly, I suppose so." Sebastian says. Ciel stands up, as if to hit Sebastian, when Angeline walks in from the back of the small building.

"Why, thank you for letting me freshen up a bit. I wouldn't want to look unpresentable... Ciel? What are you doing here?" Angeline questions.

Ciel ignores her for the moment.

"Sebastian... if you are not helping me, you're hindering me. I can't have you by my side if you're omitting information. I'm well aware of the fact that you would prefer me dependent upon you however, you cannot keep me in the dark. I won't stand for it." Ciel says.

His words are clipped and his tone is monotonous. He doesn't want to do this but he knows that he can't keep Sebastian by his side. He was really hoping that the demon would lose his commandeering attitude but it shows no signs of abating itself.

"Little master, the only reason I omitted anything was-" Sebastian's voice is quickly overridden by Ciel's.

"Because you want me dependent upon you; I'm aware. You want to ensure that I don't travel, don't attempt to uncover things because once I solve this, what will I need you for?" Ciel questions.

Sebastian's never thought about that but with Ciel looking up at him like this, his eyes harsh and unrelenting, Sebastian realizes that it does hold a truth.

"If you would let me explain-" Sebastian's interrupted for the second time by Ciel's angered voice.

"I don't want you to explain. I want you to leave. Get out. Go to hell or wherever it is you should be. I don't want to see you again." Ciel orders.

Ciel knows that Sebastian won't be able to argue, won't be able to press him against the wall, because his aunt is in the room. Sebastian's eyes widen because he didn't think the child would be this stupid, to believe a Shinigami of all things... although he probably doesn't know that the Undertaker's a Shinigami.

"I can't have my right hand, my sword, become a betrayal, now can I?" Ciel questions. He rises from the small table, pushing his chair in.

"Aunt Angeline, we'll be going to the hotel now. Sebastian, do not come to the hotel. Do not try to contact me." Ciel makes his way out of the morgue with his eyes narrowed, Angeline following behind him.

It doesn't feel nearly as good as when Sebastian's following him.


	25. Chapter 25

Sebastian shouldn't have listened to the child.

He should've grabbed the boy, held him so tight it bruised, and _told_ him that he wasn't escaping so easily.

He would have if it weren't for Angeline's entrance.

She's Ciel's aunt and obviously wouldn't take kindly to Sebastian handling her precious nephew so roughly and Ciel knew that.

So, he'd done as the boy said and left Undertakers. He didn't attempt to follow Ciel back to the hotel but instead went to Ciel's mansion in the RBKC.

The child wasn't out of his clutches yet, he knew that. The boy was bound to him and wouldn't be able to stay away from him for long. He couldn't attain revenge without Sebastian's assistance. Sebastian just had to wait for a few days, to wait until he could get the boy alone and then... well, there was plenty time to plan.

Sebastian enters Ciel's mansion without fanfare, opening the door and closing it without knocking. He doesn't take his shoes or coat off as he walks through the house, wondering where that idiot woman is... what was her name? Imogen? Megan?

He walks up the stairs but most of the lights are off except for one at the end of the hall...

"Oh my God! Y-you're the guy... the guy that-" He hears her voice from the right and when he turns his head she's standing in the long hallway leading to Ciel's bedroom.

"Hm. The man that what?" Sebastian questions. There's a familiar itch, a known hunger underneath his skin and it would do him some good to relieve it. Imogen, Megan, whatever simply shakes her head, obviously terrified.

"You know, lying's bad for you... although I think you were fairly close to the mark about my relationship with the boy. However, it's of no concern to you what I do and do not do to Ciel Phantomhive." Sebastian states, stepping closer to the woman.

She cowers back against the wall and Sebastian laughs, a rich sound.

"Yes it is! I was supposed to take care of him and I... and I just... " The woman trails off, shaking slightly.

"You just let a devil like me swoop in and take him away. Yes, you are quite the _foul_ creature." Sebastian murmurs.

It's amusing to draw this woman's insecurities out, to tease her with the horrible thoughts she holds about herself. However, he can only control himself for so long, especially when uncontracted.

"Where is he? Is he hurt? I swear to God if you-"

"You shouldn't swear to God. I believe it's in the Bible. And you shouldn't fret over that child. He's quite well at the moment, probably enjoying the hotel's luxuries." Sebastian replies, smirk on his face. He keeps his voice gentle, sweet like the honey he poured in Ciel's milk all those years ago.

In truth, he can't think about Ciel right now because it reminds him of how much work he's going to have to do to regain that boy's trust... all because of that _damn_ Shinigami.

"Where are you keeping him?" The woman demands.

She surges forward, fists raised as if she's going to hit Sebastian. Sebastian steps forward, catches her wrists and then spins her around in one swift motion so her back is to his chest.

"Hm. We shouldn't be worrying about him right now... it's past his bedtime. Let's worry about you, hm? Who's going to find your body?" Sebastian drawls, dragging a single fingernail down the side of her neck. Her skin isn't nearly as smooth as Ciel's and that angers him for some reason.

"If you kill me, someone will find out a-and they'll catch you a-and you'll end up rotting in jail." Imogen stutters, tears running down her face.

Her despair feels good in the room, relieving some of the pent up desire that Sebastian's been dealing with for far too long. He hasn't fed off emotions like these in years.

"I'm afraid not. I don't think I'll even bother with your soul seeing as how it seems rather worthless compared to... others." Sebastian murmurs.

"Would you like to say a prayer?" He questions as Imogen shakes against him with fear.

Imogen's sobbing and muttering something about angels. Sebastian snaps her neck and leaves her in the hallway.

He regrets not spilling her blood, easing some of the heady bloodlust that plagues him, but he doesn't want to even waste any more time on her.

_Well, now that that's taken care of I can tend to more pressing matters._

Sebastian enters Ciel's upstairs office. He finds the folder of evidence he originally gave Ciel as proof of his previous life and takes it with him as he leaves the mansion.

Hunger is an unpleasant thing and now that Sebastian's temporarily sated he can calmly proceed with his plans.

Ciel doesn't really listen to Angeline's idle prattle as he sits with her in the hotel dining room.

He doesn't eat his food either as Angeline rambles on about some gala party she's excited for that's happening in a few days.

_Why would I trust a devil?_

It should've been painfully evident that Sebastian wouldn't assist him, would only hinder him, but Ciel hadn't realized it until Undertaker had brought a few critical details to light.

Sebastian knew Undertaker, Kelvin, probably countless others and he was keeping it from Ciel. It's not a crime in itself but it could've saved Ciel so much time. If there's one thing Ciel won't stand for, it's lying.

_This is why I can't trust anyone_, Ciel thinks bitterly. _This is why I have to be alone._

"Ciel?" Angeline questions tentatively. It's obvious by the look on her face that she's changed topics.

"Hm." Ciel responds. He isn't sure what would be worse, if she asked him a question about the gala party or Sebastian.

"Are you upset about losing Sebastian?" Angeline asks.

"It certainly leaves me at a disadvantage." Ciel replies.

"That's not what I asked." Angeline sighs. And then, "What even happened with him? I came in a few minutes after you started talking and I couldn't really follow what was going on."

"It was nothing too extreme. Sebastian was withholding information related to the investigation." Ciel replies.

"That sounds rather extreme. What kind of information was he withholding?" Angeline asks. Ciel really doesn't want to talk about it but Angeline obviously has no tact.

"He had met one of my informants previously and a potential suspect as well." Ciel replies.

"Do you even know the nature of the visits? Perhaps it wasn't what you think." Angeline murmurs. "Besides, it's a shame to lose good help. Especially when they're so attractive..."

Ciel buries his head in his hands because Angeline isn't taking this seriously enough.

"I'm going back to the room." Ciel says. He stands and moves towards the elevators before Angeline can even offer to escort him.

Sebastian enters the hotel room quietly, ensuring that Ciel will sleep peacefully.

He plans on just being in here for a moment, just to remove some critical information from the child's phone. The plan unravels quickly however when he sees the boy, moonlight painting his pale skin a light blue.

Ciel's arms are above his head and he looks like a doll now more than he ever has, his lips parted and eyelashes dark against his skin. It's enchanting and Sebastian wants to reach out and touch the boy's smooth skin, to wake him up. Ciel would have to be quiet, couldn't make a noise of surprise as he noticed Sebastian, because Angeline's sleeping in the next bed.

Ciel shifts in his sleep and it seems to remind Sebastian that he doesn't have time for this.

He moves away from the bed and walks over to the child's luggage, pulling out his phone. He shoves it in his pocket and walks around the corner so no one will notice the bright phone screen in the dark.

It's 2 A.M. and Sebastian needs to hurry up. He first checks to see if Ciel's purchased tickets for Kelvin's circus,which he has, and then goes over to the boy's email. He deletes all of the information Abberline had sent him, along with the notes he's taken on the investigation. He also deletes all of the child's contacts and then just decides to reset the entire phone.

Sebastian originally hadn't wanted to tamper with Ciel's goal of solving his parent's murders and he's not now. All Sebastian is doing is temporarily putting it on hold.

Ciel can still visit Kelvin tomorrow, gain information from him, but then he'll be at a loss. He'll have no idea where to turn and he'll realize that Sebastian could probably help him.

Sebastian turns the child's phone off once it's reset and then places it back in his luggage.

He almost manages to leave without going back over to Ciel's bed but he has to stop for just a moment. He has to admire the child's beauty, for he looks best when he's asleep and not running that mouth of his.

_What an exquisite mouth though..._

Sebastian smirks at the thought and touches Ciel's cheek lightly. The boy makes a soft noise and turns over onto his side. Angeline stirs and sits up, rubbing at her eyes in a way that makes her seem younger than she really is.

When she looks around the room, no one's there.


	26. Chapter 26

Ciel wakes up at 6:30 A.M.

The circus show isn't until three in the afternoon in Manchester but he wants to be out of the hotel before his aunt wakes up. Ciel puts on his new outfit and is surprised to find that it feels odd to be dressing himself.

He'd dressed himself for most of his life but he'd fallen in routine with Sebastian and it felt weird to be in yet another hotel room following yet another lead without Sebastian dressing him and calling room service. He pauses in front of the mirror for a moment, looking at himself.

He's always wondered what other people saw when they looked at him but he really wishes he knew what Sebastian thought... did he see the Ciel Phantomhive of the past? Or were they merely one entity, Ciel Phantomhive a single being for the demon?

Ciel leaves a note for his aunt, explaining that he was going shopping at the local mall and that he'd be back for lunch. He slips out of the hotel but doesn't bother heading towards the mall. He instead goes to a small bookshop a few streets away.

He wastes some time in there until it's around 8 and then pulls out his phone to check the time only to find that his phone is completely reset. The background is the same nondescript picture it came with when he bought it, there are no apps, pictures, videos, and most importantly no contacts.

Ciel isn't sure why his phone suddenly decided to be delete all of his information but he decides that he doesn't have time to dwell on it now. Besides, he has everything on a backup server connected to his laptop.

He dials his chauffeur's number from memory. Ciel has to ensure the man the rumors aren't true, that he hadn't been kidnapped by Sebastian, and that the man come pick him up immediately _without_ contacting anyone else.

Ciel's chauffeur arrives quickly and Ciel steps into the familiar black car fastidiously, not really wanting to be seen or recognized.

"Please drive to my mansion." Ciel orders. His chauffeur starts driving almost immediately.

"May I ask where you've been? There's been a search for you and everything. They thought that that... _man_ had kidnapped you." The chauffeur murmurs. He sounds concerned and it's nice to know that someone cares about Ciel, even in the slightest.

"I was on two business trips, one to California and one to Paris." Ciel replies. He doesn't see any harm in talking to his chauffeur; the man's harmless enough. "And rest assured that I wasn't kidnapped, merely busy. However, even though I am back in London please refrain from mentioning this to _anyone_."

Ciel knows that he doesn't have to follow Sebastian's stipulation now that the demon's not at his side but it just seems easier... at least until after he gets more information on Kelvin.

"That's good to hear. So you just want me to drop you off at your mansion?" His chauffeur questions.

"No, I want you to park the car a good distance away from the house and then wait in the car while I walk to the mansion from there. I have to retrieve something but it should only take a few minutes." Ciel replies.

The ride to his mansion is shorter than Ciel was expecting it to be and it feels weird to be in his neighborhood this early in the morning, the sun filtering through the trees and everyone either asleep or already gone for work, school, etc.

Ciel has his chauffeur park the car on the side of the road a few houses away from his mansion. He knows that he'll have to walk for a few minutes but it'll draw less attention to him this way.

"Wait here." Ciel orders, slipping out of the car. He walks down the street at a casual pace, trying to look like he belongs. He hears a few birds chirping and grimaces when he hears a car door slam at a neighboring house.

Ciel arrives at his mansion and turns up the driveway swiftly, not wanting to be spotted by anyone he knows. He enters the house and closes the door behind him.

"Imogen, I don't want to frighten you. It's me, Ciel." Ciel says as he enters the house slowly. It's extremely quiet, a kind of unsettling silence that's eerily familiar to Ciel. He rounds the corner into the living room but it's empty too.

He walks up the stairs slowly but freezes once he's at the top of the stairs because there's a dark shadow on the floor that looks like-

"Ah!" Ciel cries out as a hand covers his eyes, blocking his vision.

"My apologies, little master." Ciel knows that liquid voice, sensual and tantalizing.

"Sebastian." Ciel gasps. His lack of breath annoys him but Sebastian's sudden appearance had taken all of his breath away, scaring him far worse than this empty house had.

"Yes, little master?" Sebastian responds. Ciel has to lean against the demon for a moment just so he can catch his breath. He's shaking slightly and Sebastian loops an arm around Ciel's stomach, carrying him down the stairs with his legs dangling.

"You killed Imogen, didn't you?" Ciel questions.

He wishes he could say that he doesn't feel anything, that this isn't affecting him, but all he can remember is that one time when he was 11 and Imogen bandaged him up after he wrecked his bike, or his first Christmas with her when she made a gingerbread house with him...

"Yes." Sebastian replies. He sets Ciel down when they get to the bottom of the stairs and releases him but Ciel keeps his eyes closed, not wanting to see the demon.

"Please leave." Ciel says. He's not begging but it's as close as he'll ever get to begging. He doesn't want to see the demon's face, not after what he did to Imogen.

The thing that's even harder for Ciel to admit was that there was a chance that if he actually saw Sebastian, saw that tantalizing mirage of a person, charming and remote, he might give in to him... might let him come back to the hotel with him.

Ciel hated admitting that to himself.

"Very well. I won't fight with you just yet. You still have quite a good bit of information to dig up. I believe you're going to visit Noah's Ark very soon?" Sebastian murmurs, his voice barely a question.

Ciel doesn't respond.

"Well, please be careful. I have to go back to France for today and tomorrow and therefore I won't be able to protect you." Sebastian says. Ciel jolts and almost opens his eyes to look at the demon but then he remembers his resolve and keeps them shut.

_Without Sebastian, I really will be alone..._

"Furthermore, without the mark of the covenant I won't be able to tell whether or not you're in pain or need me." Sebastian says.

"I won't be needing your assistance." Ciel replies.

"If you're sure. However, there is one thing you can do if all hope is lost and you really do need me. Simply _call_ for me." Sebastian murmurs.

It's obvious that he's not telling Ciel to pick up a phone and call him. He's talking about something else.

"If you really do need me, you'll understand what I mean. Now, won't you open those eyes of yours and look at me?" Sebastian questions.

Ciel tilts his head away from Sebastian and the demon chuckles, raising the hairs on the back of Ciel's neck.

"That's quite alright. If things go as planned, I'll be seeing you soon." Sebastian says. There's the ghost of fingers on the side of Ciel's neck, his cheek, and then it's silent.

When Ciel opens his eyes, he's alone in the house with Imogen's body upstairs.

Ciel decides that he can't go back upstairs to get the papers from his office and also that he doesn't have time for this. He's going to have to drive to Manchester which will take around four hours.

He exits his mansion, closing the door behind him. He walks back to his car calmly and surely, slipping into the vehicle and telling him to drive.

"I need you to drive me to Manchester. Once we get there, please call 999 to report the death of Imogen." Ciel murmurs.

"What? Why? Surely she isn't really-"

"She's dead. I found her in the mansion. Seeing as how she's been dead for a while, there's no point in calling 999 now. I'd like you to wait until I'm in Manchester. Don't mention that you saw me... to anyone." Ciel stresses.

The chauffeur mumbles something about Imogen and how she 'always seemed nice' and those kind of things. Ciel tunes the man out as best he can, watching as the houses blur by.

He remembers all of the kind things Imogen did for him when he was younger but when he turned 12 she had seemed to lose interest, suddenly treating him with borderline hostility. It was unnerving and Ciel still remembers when he'd cried over it before he'd been able to control his emotions.

Ciel falls asleep and when he wakes up it's to the driver telling him that they're arriving in Manchester.

"Thank you. I just need you to drop me off near Winslow." Ciel says, stretching as he wakes up.

"Well, here ya are. And please, don't hesitate to call me if you need me again." The driver says.

"I won't. Thank you again." Ciel replies.

He steps out of the BMW and walks down the crowded street towards the red and white striped tents he can see in the distance. He doesn't like the large amount of people around him and he wishes that Sebastian was here with him, despite what the demon had done.

Ciel didn't know his motives, was assuming that he didn't have any, yet he still wanted that devil around.

After what felt like an eternity of maneuvering around people, Ciel finally manages to reach the tents.

He's a few minutes early, not nearly as many people milling around as there would be during show time. Ciel decides that it's better now than later.

He sneaks around to the back of the tent where there was a 'performers only' sign hanging on the back of a few equipment trucks. Ciel enters the first equipment truck and is surprised to find crates that are labeled as 'cow bones'.

"What are you doing?" A voice questions just before Ciel can go take a closer look at the crates.

"I was just wondering if I could get an autograph of one of the performers." Ciel lies. The man that he's speaking to has dark brown frizzy hair and after a moment Ciel realizes that it's the man that bumped into him at the circus two days ago in France.

"Hm. Well, you shouldn't be back here. Come on, I'll take you to who you want. Which one of the performers do you wanna see?" The man questions.

"Dagger." Ciel replies, remembering the performers name simply because of his skill, throwing knives and not missing a single bull's eye. He was an excellent knife-thrower although Ciel has no interest in his autograph; it's merely an act.

"Alright, let's go." The man says. "I'm the Doctor, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." Ciel replies. He won't give out his name unless he has no choice.

"Dagger! Come here!" The doctor calls, waving his arm towards a group of performers gathered in a circle around a table covered with food.

"What is it, Doc?" Dagger questions, moving over towards the man and Ciel. He's a young male, older than Ciel slightly but still younger than Sebastian.

"This boy here wanted your autograph and I figured it was the least you could do for a fan." Doc replies.

"Oh, yeah, of course I can! What do you want me to sign?" Dagger asks. He leans down towards Ciel and Ciel grimaces at the height difference despite the small age difference.

"Here, I brought paper and a sharpie." Ciel replies, pulling the items out of his pocket. He'd been planning on this just in case someone caught him snooping around.

"Dagger, why don't you go get him some official merchandise and sign that. It'll last a lot better than a piece of paper." Doc says. He seems generous, at least.

"Sure thing. C'mon, let's go!" Dagger says, looping his arm through Ciel's and dragging him towards the group of performers seated around the table covered with food.

"Check it out! This kid's my fan!" Dagger says enthusiastically.

"Wow. That's hard to believe." One of the small children mutters and then her and her male counterpart both start giggling.

"Ah, shut up. I'm not surprised you have a fan." The female performer with the tiger says. Ciel doesn't like her automatically and he tries to tell himself it's not because of Sebastian's fixation with her cat and, by extension, her act.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go get him some merch to sign and then Doc'll probably let you take his seat during the performance. It's the best seat in the house." Dagger informs him seriously.

"That'd be great." Ciel says, smiling up at Dagger.

"Alright, cool. Just follow me... "

* * *

Note: The emergency telephone number for the United Kingdom is 999 or 112. In the U.S., it's 911.


	27. Chapter 27

Ciel follows Dagger into another tent that has various electrical equipment in it, the tent's main purpose for lighting and merchandise.

Dagger signs a stuffed animal of the tiger named Betty, as Ciel's quickly informed.

"She seems like a big meanie, but she's actually a sweetheart. Most of the time." Dagger says with a smile.

"We're doing a sound check! C'mon, Dagger!" One of the other members calls.

"Coming, Joker!" Dagger replies. "You can come too. Just go sit up in the stands in the box seat. Doc'll probably sit up there with you or Dad, although he doesn't normally come to our shows."

"Your dad?" Ciel asks, walking with Dagger. He was hoping to get some information from this venture but so far he hasn't gathered much at all.

"Well, he's not really any of our dad's. He's our sponsor but he takes care of us, y'know? He took most of us in at a young age and he's always taken care of us." Dagger responds.

"Dagger! Get down there!" Doc yells, pointing towards the performers gathered in the ring.

"I'm going, I'm going." Dagger calls back. "I'll talk to you after sound check and before the show, okay- I just realized I don't know your name."

"Finnian." Ciel replies with a smile. It's a name one of his servants used to have when he was younger, before his parents died.

"Well, I hope you enjoy the show, Finnian." Dagger says, leaving with a wave. Ciel sighs and walks up the stands, taking a seat in the area clearly the best seat in the house.

It's directly in the middle section of the bleachers, facing the performance. There's one other seat beside Ciel and he wonders if Kelvin will be sitting with him.

It's obvious that Kelvin is the 'Dad' that Dagger was referring to. Ciel isn't sure if he's quite ready to meet Kelvin yet though. He stupidly wonders if he could wait until Sebastian was back from France to meet Kelvin. It would certainly be an advantage for him but the demon isn't really someone Ciel should be around.

Ciel spends the remainder of the sound check re-entering contacts into his phone. He enters in Sebastian's number, remembering it from when he was teaching Sebastian how to use the phone, and then angrily shuts his phone off. He shouldn't be thinking about that demon at all.

Once sound check is over Dagger comes over to sit by Ciel and brings over some of the other performers. They introduce themselves as Beast and Joker.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Finnian." Ciel replies.

"So, you like Dagger's act, huh?" Joker questions.

"Yeah. He's really good. I mean, you all are but he's especially good." Ciel says. Joker laughs and Dagger blushes slightly.

Ciel talks to them a little longer about meaningless things, hoping that the idiotic performance will begin so he can see whether Kelvin comes or not.

"Y'know, Dad's having a party tomorrow... it'd be really cool if you could come. Maybe if we ask him-" Joker cuts Dagger off.

"Dagger, you can't just-"

"What are you all talking about?" Doc questions, walking up the stands and taking a seat near Beast.

"I was just saying that we should invite Finnian to Dad's party tomorrow." Dagger says. He sounds hurt at Joker's admonishment.

"That's a great idea. Would you like to?" Doc asks, tilting his head towards Ciel.

"Sure." Ciel replies. He finds it extremely suspicious that Doc agreed so readily to the idea. He also finds it suspicious that no one questioned why he was here alone, despite his age.

"Very well. I'm sure Mr. Kelvin wouldn't mind." Doc replies. It's the first time anyone's mentioned his name and Ciel takes note.

"Great, so where is this party going to be at?" Ciel questions.

"Come with me and I'll explain it to you." Doc says. Ciel rises from his seat and follows the Doctor down the bleachers. Once they reach the ring they exit the tent and walk along the paths as they talk.

The doctor explains that the party will be from 18:00 to 22:00. He also gives Ciel Kelvin's address, which he quickly types in his notes.

"It's a costume party, seeing as how close Halloween is." Doc says. Ciel hadn't even noticed that Halloween was so close.

"I'd best be getting a costume then. Will you be attending?" Ciel questions.

"I most certainly will." Doc replies.

"Well, I'll see you there." Ciel says, walking away with a wave. Doc doesn't even question why he's leaving before the performance even started when he claims to be such an avid fan. Ciel has a feeling that the doctor knows the real reason he was at the circus.

It makes Ciel feel nervous the entire time he's shopping. He buys a simple costume for Kelvin's party, a headband with devil horns and a pitchfork.

Ciel tries to imagine Sebastian's face as he puts the devil's horns on his head but his imagination can't really do the demon justice.

Ciel returns to the hotel far later than he'd originally planned and he declines dinner to take a shower.

After his shower, he gets on his laptop and re-enters his contacts from his laptop to his phone. He also goes through his email on his laptop, something he hadn't done since he'd purchased his iPhone. It had always been far easier to do things on his phone.

Once that lengthy task is over, he agrees to visit the spa with Angeline.

"Ooo, I'm so excited. I haven't had a proper massage in months." Angeline says.

"Well, this is a good opportunity for you then." Ciel replies. He's attempting to be kind so she'll let him go to Kelvin's tomorrow.

"So where were you all day today?" Angeline questions. They walk down the long hallways leading towards the spa, wrapped up in matching white robes.

"Noah's Ark Circus was actually in town so I decided to go and get one of the performer's autographs. While I was there, they invited me to a costume party tomorrow." Ciel replies.

"How exciting! Maybe I could attend." Angeline says, a wistful lilt to her voice.

"Absolutely not. It's an invite only kind of party." Ciel informs her, holding the door open for his aunt. The spa contains massage tables, a large set of baths and other various luxuries.

"Well surely you could just take me with you. I doubt they'd kick you out because you brought your aunt." Angeline murmurs. They're both scheduled for a soak in the hot tub before their massages.

"I'm afraid it's going to be a rather... childish affair." Ciel says as he gets into the single hot tub. Angeline climbs into the hot tub beside his.

"Oh. Well, at least tell me what you're dressing up as." Angeline sniffs. She sounds a little hurt, as if she believes that Ciel doesn't want to spend time with her but he will have to rectify that another time.

"A devil." Ciel replies, sinking a little lower in the hot tub.

"Why not go as _the_ devil?" Angeline questions, sounding amused.

"I'm better off leaving that to the actual devil." Ciel murmurs. His thoughts are on Sebastian.

"Haha, I suppose. I think you should've went as a pirate; you could've worn an eye patch and everything." Angeline laughs. Ciel doesn't respond.

They return to the hotel room after Angeline's massage, Ciel declining his massage because of the brand on his back. It's a shame because his shoulders really do feel tense.

He spends the remainder of the night sending all of his emails back to his phone, finding it far simpler to operate from his cell phone than the laptop.

He also looks up some info on Kelvin and tries to find a picture of the man but his search provides no new information. He performs another quick search of the IP address Abberline had given him but it reveals nothing as well.

Grumbling to himself he shuts his laptop and lies down, listening to the quiet sounds of his aunt's breathing in the bed next to his. She'd fallen asleep watching Britain's Next Top Model and it was on now, two girls bickering over wardrobe changes.

Ciel sighs and turns over onto his back, tossing his arms to his sides. He very nearly screams as his right arm comes in contact with a body.

"Sh, there's no need to scream." And Ciel knows that voice and that flash of white teeth in the dark.

"You _idiot_! I nearly fell off the bed." Ciel hisses.

"My apologies, little master." Sebastian murmurs, sounding amused. He sits up and moves his face closer to Ciel's, holding the boy's chin lightly.

"Why are you here? I thought you were in France." Ciel replies quietly. The TV's volume is up fairly high, probably loud enough to keep his aunt from hearing anything they're saying if she were to wake up.

"I'm leaving for France momentarily. I came to make a last minute proposition." Sebastian says. His eyes look like blood, crimson and sinister in the flickering light of the television.

"What kind of proposition?" Ciel demands. Sebastian's fingers are still on his chin and it feels like they're taking the warmth from his skin.

"Form a contract with me. I will still have to go to France but this way I will know if you're in need of my assistance." Sebastian says. Ciel swallows audibly and Sebastian smirks in response. He drags his thumb down the boy's throat, his finger gliding across his underdeveloped Adam's apple.

"I won't be giving up my soul because you doubt my control of the situation." Ciel huffs. Sebastian smiles and switches to his index finger, tracing the boy's prominent collarbone.

"My lord, that seems to be your single problem. You have an insatiable urge to be on top, to be the one in control, but I fear that your time at Kelvin's manor will not play out as you wish it to." Sebastian murmurs.

"Nevertheless, my answer remains the same." Ciel says. He crosses his arms and turns his head away from Sebastian, in a show of turning away from temptation.

Ciel's body stiffens when he feels Sebastian's lips press against his throat but he doesn't say anything until Sebastian's mouth is off his skin.

"So many sins have been committed against you, so many wrongs, and I offer you a way to right those wrongs. I'm offering you a new sin; a sin all your own." Sebastian says, dragging his mouth across Ciel's jaw.

"I don't want a sin all my own. You are a demon and obviously were created to devour and to taint. I do not wish to taint; I merely wish to reach my goal. Nothing else." Ciel says. Sebastian pulls away from Ciel and the boy turns his head, their lips barely brushing together for a moment.

"My, what a twisted little lamb you are. I just worry... you'll need to be far more than a lamb at Kelvin's manor." Sebastian drawls.

"Then I'll be whatever it is required of me to attain my victory." Ciel responds. His expression is fierce and Sebastian wants to devour him, to taste that smooth skin.

"I do hope victory is what you attain." Sebastian says. His expression looks hungry somehow and it makes Ciel nervous. When the demon's predatory edge comes into play, he often feels like a bird in the eyes of a snake.

"It will be." Ciel says. Sebastian smiles and leans in close to Ciel, as if he's going to kiss him again. Ciel closes his eyes and leans away slightly, weary of the demon's advances, but when he opens his eyes he's alone.

* * *

Note: I fixed the mistake for everyone who was concerned. Thanks for mentioning it. (:


	28. Chapter 28

"Yes, I should be home by eleven." Ciel says, pushing away Angeline's hands as she attempts to muss up his hair a little more.

"Oh, good. You look so adorable as a devil Ciel, now really." Angeline murmurs, pinching his cheek. Ciel pulls out of her grasp and sighs, turning to look in the mirror.

He wasn't wearing anything special, just his black boots, jeans, and a black shirt. Of course, he had his little devil horns on and his pitchfork.

"Be careful and don't take candy from strangers." Angeline says seriously, handing him twenty dollars in case he needs to buy something. She seems to forget that he has his own credit card.

"I won't. I'll see you later." Ciel says, exiting the hotel room.

"Have fun!" Angeline calls after him. Ciel has a feeling that fun will be the last thing he's having.

He'd spent the day nervously anticipating the party and wondering if Sebastian would show up again. The demon didn't but that was expected; he was allegedly in France. Ciel had a feeling that Sebastian wasn't really in France and that he was just attempting to tempt Ciel to come find him.

Ciel takes a taxi to Kelvin's mansion, giving the address to the taxi driver from his notes.

The light's fading outside, darkness already tugging at the horizon. Ciel keeps looking at the lock screen of his phone, checking the time every few minutes.

He arrives at Kelvin's house exactly on time, the taxi dropping him off right in front of the large mansion.

It's an enormous house, white and magnificent with Greek style columns and a stone staircase similar to the one Ciel's aunt has.

There are a large number of people exiting cars and walking up the stairs to Kelvin's manor. It's a mixture of adults and children, everyone dressed up in costumes. Ciel feels very seriously like he underdressed but can't bring himself to care as he walks up the staircase.

"Finnian! I'm so glad you could make it!" Dagger calls as soon as Ciel enters the large mansion.

It's beautiful, the walls painted a rich red color and the furniture of a decidedly old-fashioned nature. All of the colors seem to support the theme of Halloween, everything having a heady, fall feel to it.

"Me too." Ciel replies. Dagger is dressed in his usual circus getup as are most of the performers. Only the petite girl around Ciel's age and Beast are dressed up in any way that differentiates from their regular attire. Beast is wearing yet another promiscuous outfit and Ciel has to keep his eyes off of her to keep from blushing.

"You make quite the innocent looking devil." Beast smiles.

"I suppose. So where's Mr. Kelvin?" Ciel questions. He keeps his voice at just the right pitch so he seems only semi-interested.

"Uh, I don't think he's coming out until later. He's underwent some surgeries and-"

"He'll be out later." Beast says, interrupting Dagger. "Let's go get a drink." She says, dragging Dagger and the petite girl away.

Ciel looks around the room, his eyes scanning the large archways and the grand architecture. He makes his way over to the punch bowl, leaving his pitchfork leaning against the wall for a moment.

"Oh, there you are." A voice says. Ciel turns his head and sees Doc standing next to him. He's wearing his usual outfit of a white lab coat.

"Were you looking for me?" Ciel questions.

"Yes, I was actually. I'd mentioned you to Kelvin and he said that he'd love to meet a fan of Noah's Ark Circus." Doc murmurs. Ciel has a sudden feeling of dread in his stomach. It's such a intense emotion that he actually wonders if he should just go home, just save this for another day.

"Oh really?" Ciel questions. Of course he can't leave this for another day; there will never be another opportunity like this.

"Yes. Would you like to meet him? He's the sponsor of the circus as well as the founder." Doc says.

"I'd love to." Ciel replies. He smiles up at the doctor but on the inside his stomach twists in knots and that feeling of foreboding is as strong as ever.

Doc leads him to a set of stairs that leads down into what looks like a basement. Ciel follows against his better judgment, reminding himself that this is for the sake of his parents and his own sanity. He has to do this.

"Mr. Kelvin?" Doc calls, moving down the wooden stairs. Ciel follows behind the man and when he reaches the bottom of the stairs the heels of his boots click on the cement floor.

"Back here, Doctor." A voice replies that sends unpleasant chills down Ciel's spine. The lights are off and Ciel can't see anything now that they're at the bottom of the stairs.

"Can we turn on a light?" Ciel questions. There a sharp intake of breath, as if someone's surprised at hearing Ciel's voice, and then the lights are on.

The harsh fluorescent lights illuminate everything, revealing to Ciel what he has nightmares about, what he thought he'd never see again.

"Y-You... what... is this?" Ciel demands, falling back against the railing of the staircase.

"Don't you like it? It's all for you of course." Kelvin murmurs, rolling his wheelchair towards Ciel a little. Ciel's balanced against the railing, just barely saving himself from hitting the floor.

"I want to recreate that night. I couldn't be there the first time but they told me that you were so beautiful... you still are. They said they branded you, marked you. It's utterly unfair that I was unable to attend, unable to hear your fictitious wails... " Kelvin murmurs.

He sounds deranged and Ciel collapses against the floor, trying not to be sick. Kelvin's face looks horrific, bandages covering every available inch of his skin that Ciel can see.

The room's an entire recreation of the room Ciel was kept in for months, of the room Ciel barely escaped from, of the room Ciel had been drug to immediately after his parents' deaths.

Kelvin, for whatever reason, had spent time turning his basement into an exact replica of the room Ciel had been tortured and held captive in. It's utterly repulsive and Ciel is reliving it, memories pressing against him. Horrid things like the feel of their hands against his skin, the burn of the brand on his back, the ache in his stomach from lack of food...

"W... Why?" Ciel questions. Grey is creeping in at the corners of his vision and he's afraid he'll black out, leaving himself at Kelvin's mercy.

"I told you, I want to recreate that glorious night. I want to hear your special, special screams. I have so many wondrous plans for you, Ciel." Kelvin says. Ciel makes a gagging noise and nearly chokes on his own bile as he throws up, the repressed memories tormenting him.

"Oh, my are you sick? I do hope you didn't eat too much candy... it's not even Halloween yet." Kelvin chuckles. Ciel wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and lifts himself up into a standing position, his knees shaking terribly.

"You look marvelous, you know. Even now, when you've just been sick and your hair's sticking to your forehead you're still just as beautiful as the day I first met you. You were younger then certainly but you haven't grown very much have you? Such a thin frame." Kelvin murmurs. Ciel's eyes are wide with shock, his eyes flitting around the room as he takes in the sickeningly familiar details.

There are cages on the floor and a sacrificial alter in the middle of the room, the very same brand on Ciel's back carved into the floor. Ciel isn't even sure if he's in the present or the past, reliving a memory or dealing with a new one.

"I think we'll start with changing your outfit. Although devil horns do suit you, I think an angel's halo would've been better. Such an innocent looking boy... Doctor, please change him into the outfit I purchased." Kelvin says. The doctor moves towards Ciel and without even thinking about it, Ciel pulls the small gun out of the waistband of his jeans and shoots the man in his thigh.

The doctor makes a gurgled kind of scream and collapses on the stone floor. He makes a grab for Ciel's ankle but Ciel moves away from him.

"Don't touch him! You just scared him." Kelvin growls at the doctor. And then, "You shouldn't worry Ciel, I wouldn't let him touch you... I wouldn't let anyone touch you. He's not special enough; no one's special enough. I'm close to being there... very soon I will be."

Ciel doesn't respond, just points the gun at Kelvin, annoyed at how badly his hands are shaking.

"I've went through so many operations for you, Ciel. Doc seems to understand my need for perfection and my need to be perfect for you. He gets me... at least, a little so he performs the procedures for me so I can be perfect for you." Kelvin says. His voice makes Ciel feel sick again.

"You sick... " Ciel trails off, still breathing hard. The doctor is sitting up now but not going anywhere.

"Sick? Now why would you say something like that? It's rather rude when I set all this up for you." Kelvin says. He sounds far from offended however.

"You're insane." Ciel rasps, the gun still pointed at Kelvin's chest.

"I've been following you for a while now. I'm the one that hired the informant to tell you about Chambers. I had Joker follow you while you were in California. He got pictures of you when you were at Aleister's party, dressed as a girl. You looked absolutely divine that night." Kelvin says fondly, as if he's recalling someone's birthday party.

"I had Doc confiscate the video of you Aleister had. It seems that you and that man with the black hair forgot about it. I don't like him. He doesn't seem so special but he's allowed to touch you. You even touched him in that video and I don't like that." Kelvin grumbles.

It's evident that he's talking about the camera in Aleister's bedroom and Sebastian, how Ciel had been high on MDMA and had kissed Sebastian in a moment of hazy confusion. Ciel realizes that they really had forgot the disc and that Kelvin must actually have it.

"But why? What do you want from me?" Ciel demands. He's yelling now, shock still pooling in his chest but anger forming now too.

"I want to see just how special you can be. I want to sacrifice you in this room, but not just yet. First I have to show you how special I am; I want you to _feel_ how special I am." Kelvin says. Ciel shoots him in the arm by the end of his sentence.

The noise seems to echo in the cement room and Ciel's pupils are narrowed to slits. He can see his breath in front of him it's so cold in the rom.

An arm loops around Ciel's waist and pulls him backwards, knocking the gun out of his trembling hands and holding a rag against his face.

Ciel tries to scream but just inhales against the rag and as the darkness slowly drags him under he realizes that Sebastian isn't going to be able to save him.

That his demon was right; he really was too much of a lamb...

* * *

Note: I know, the cliffhanger was cruel of me but don't worry. I'll be updating soon.

Just keep reviewing; it keeps me inspired. (:


	29. Chapter 29

Ciel groans and shifts, a metallic sound echoing around the room when he moves.

He opens his eyes quickly and sits up, chains holding him to the floor. There are manacles around both of his ankles and his wrists. He's also wearing an outfit that's almost identical to the one he wore during his captivity. He's in one of the cages that's right against the sacrificial alter, blocking everything else from sight. He can't see anything in front of him but behind him he can see the back wall of the basement.

He immediately starts pulling at the chains, desperately pushing and tugging even though he knows from experience that it won't work.

Ciel works at the chains for hours, tugging at them until his wrists are bleeding, the thin skin breaking from the dull drag of the metal against his wrists. He attempts screaming to get someone's attention for a while but he knows that no one will hear, no one will come.

"I don't know what he sees in you." A voice murmurs. Ciel jerks his head around quickly and he sees Joker, crouched down and looking in his cage.

"Please! You have to help me!" Ciel rasps. This is all too similar to his original capture, his first hell. He can remember it all, how he cried and begged, how he _prayed_ for God to come save him and how no one showed up.

"Look, I can't. Dad wanted you and now he has you; I'm not going to mess with that. Besides, he's using my siblings as leverage." Joker says.

"I'll give you anything you want." Ciel says desperately.

"I'm really sorry about this." Joker murmurs. He opens the cage with a key and Ciel automatically moves to get out. Joker lets him and then he undoes the chains and carries Ciel towards the sacrificial alter.

"No! No! Please!" Ciel screams, thrashing in Joker's hold and trying to climb out of his grip. He sees figures standing around the alter and at first he thinks it's _those_ men, the men that originally captured him, but then he realizes that it's the other members of the circus.

Beast, Dagger and the petite girl all stand around the alter and although Dagger's obviously been crying he still holds one of Ciel's ankles down when they place him on the alter.

"Stop this! What is wrong with you all?" Ciel demands, thrashing against them. Beast and Joker are holding down his shoulders while Dagger and the small girl hold down his ankles.

Doc suddenly limps into view, holding a knife.

"Relax, we're not doing anything too intense at the moment. Right now we're just spilling some blood." The man murmurs. He makes a cut from the top of Ciel's wrist to the crease in his elbow.

Even though the cut's shallow, it stings and Ciel cries out, attempting to lean away from the pain.

"Your cries are so wonderful. It's the most stunning thing I've ever heard." Kelvin says, wheeling his chair towards the alter. Ciel can barely see the man when he raises his head from the stone tablet but he curses him nonetheless.

"More. I want more. Make him scream some more." Kelvin says. "But don't kill him. If you do that, I'll kill you and everyone you care about... especially those little brats you're all so obsessed with."

No one responds. Doc merely takes the knife and makes a small cut on Ciel's cheek, near his mouth. Ciel yelps, the stinging cut hurting more than he'd expected. He doesn't want to give Kelvin anything but he's beyond his breaking point and he just wants out.

Ciel knows how this is going to end and he doesn't think he's going to be able to escape this time.

"K-Kelvin, please. Please, don't do this... _please_." Ciel begs. And he really is begging, broken and sobbing as he bleeds out on the stone alter that has always been meant to be his death.

Ciel's never doubted that he was meant to die in that room when he was 10 years old, desecrated and torn.

"Don't sound so pitiful. It's heartbreaking, it really is. You four, let go of him for a moment." Kelvin orders, rolling his wheelchair forward until he's as near to Ciel as he can possibly get.

"Dad, I don't think-"

"You'll let go if you want those dammed siblings of yours to live." Kelvin snaps. They all release Ciel and move a decent distance away. Only Doc remains standing near Kelvin.

"You look like a cherub right now, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes and blood on your mouth. Such a beautiful rose with such sharp thorns." Kelvin murmurs.

Ciel sits up slowly. He makes sure to keep his movements slow so no one will stop him as he reaches for Kelvin. He pauses when his fingers are bare centimeters away from Kelvin's bandaged face and Kelvin's trembling, holding his breath as he waits for Ciel to touch him.

In one swift movement Ciel grabs the knife from Doc and uses it on Kelvin, jabbing it in his chest. The movement pushes him off the stone alter and half on Kelvin's lap, something Kelvin gasps about even with a knife in his chest.

Ciel stands up to run but gasps as he feels something sharp cut through the side of his neck. He brings a hand up to the side of his throat and when he looks at his fingers they're covered in blood.

"What have you done?" Kelvin screams, horrified. Ciel collapses on the floor, the side of his neck bleeding profusely. Ciel can feel the warm blood running down his throat and onto the cement floor.

"He _attacked_ you. I figured you'd want me to-"

"Of course I didn't want you to hurt him! Damn you, you ignorant fool! I'll kill you once I've ascertained that Ciel's fine! Doc, fix him! Fix him _now_!" Kelvin roars, his voice booming.

Ciel can taste blood as he tries to breath and he realizes that a major artery has been cut in the side of his throat. He doesn't know if it's his jugular or not.

"Don't yell at Joker! I thought you wanted Ciel to be your sacrificial lamb." Beast growls.

_Yes,_ Ciel thinks dazedly. _A sacrificial lamb..._

"Shut up, you bitch!" Kelvin growls. The knife is still in his chest but he pays it no heed, even as blood stains his shirt.

_I was supposed to be more than a lamb... it's what... Sebastian would've wanted._

**Sebastian.**

And suddenly Ciel knows how to call for Sebastian.

He imagines the demon, imagines his pale skin, his black nails, red eyes, dark attire, and soft hair. He imagines his devilish smirk, his surprised expression, and his languid smile.

Ciel can't see it but everyone else in the room makes a surprised noise as Ciel's blood moves, shifting into the shape of a pentagram on the floor.

"You waited quite some time, little master." And Ciel would recognize that voice anywhere. "Your orders?"

"Kill them all." Ciel commands. He's too weak to raise his head, too weak to look around the room. So he closes his eyes as the screams of the others in the room reaches his ears. Their screams seem to go on forever, as if Sebastian is drawing their pain out.

"My lord... " Sebastian says once it's silent. His voice is reverent but Ciel keeps his eyes closed, too weak to open them.

"I'm terribly sorry for being so late." Sebastian says. He pulls Ciel up into a sitting position and Ciel finally opens his eyes to look at the demon.

Ciel's wrists are bleeding from the chains and Sebastian wraps one hand around the boy's forearm, pulling it up to his mouth and licking the wound.

Ciel cries out in surprise but doesn't try to pull away, or maybe he can't- Sebastian isn't really sure at this point.

Ciel's skin is cool and his blood is hot against Sebastian's tongue. He's holding Ciel tight, probably too tight, but he has to hold the boy still so he won't take him, won't cave into the carnal desires that have been plaguing him from the moment he set eyes on Ciel Phantomhive.

The wound on Ciel's wrist is long and runs down to the crease in his elbow. Sebastian drags his tongue down the laceration and pulls the small child closer to him. Ciel makes a pained noise and Sebastian glances up at him.

_Oh, yes, that blasted wound on his neck._

He listens to Ciel's breathing for a moment, the frightened beating of his heart, and realizes that Ciel's external jugular vein was nicked.

_Even with a cut that small... _

The boy's not going to live.

"Little master, we don't have much time." Sebastian says. Ciel's looking at him with an expression that's riddled with pain.

"You are going to die. I have told you before and I'll say it again: I do not lie. I am not lying to you now when I say that if you do not form a contract with me you will die." Sebastian says. Ciel looks up at Sebastian, his lips parted as he struggles to breath.

"I don't want to live forever... but I do want to live to see my parents avenged. If there is no other way for me to live on, then I will form a contract with you." Ciel says. His voice is quiet and Sebastian presses a kiss to the wound beside the boy's mouth. The wound on his throat doesn't seem to affect his voice although the blood bubbles as he speaks and pools in the hollow of his throat.

Ciel knows this means Sebastian will get his soul, will devour him, but he doesn't mind. As long as his demon delivers his demise, it will not be all for naught. As long as he reaches his goal...

"Very well. Your crown has been bought and paid for, my lord... all you have to do is put it on." Sebastian informs the thin boy who's looking up at him.

"Sebastian, bestow upon me my crown and bring me victory."

The demon smiles as he brings his palm up to cover the child's right eye, marking him with a pain straight from hell. Ciel manages to take the pain rather stoically, seeing as how he knows there's a purpose behind the pain.

When Sebastian removes his hand from Ciel's eye, there's black ink in the shape of a pentagram marking his skin. Ciel's eye has the pentagram mark glowing in a white color, his blue iris still slowing turning into a purple.

"What does it look like?" Ciel questions.

"You'll see soon enough." Sebastian replies. He stands, lifting Ciel up in his arms, and moves out of the basement.

The bodies of the circus members are sprawled on the cold floor in various positions and Ciel refuses to look at them, instead holding Sebastian's hand in his own as he looks at the mark of the covenant burned into his demon's skin.

"How long will you have this?" Ciel questions.

"Until the contract is completed." Sebastian replies. He reaches the top of the staircase and pushes the large door open, revealing the grandeur of the party.

It seems surreal to Ciel and he leans against Sebastian, eyes shut as his demon slowly carries him out of the party.

There's disquieted muttering around them but Sebastian just smiles at the guests' anxious stares.

Ciel loops his arms tighter around Sebastian's neck when they exit into the cold night and though it's dark out, the moon doesn't shine on either of them as they move down the street.


	30. Chapter 30

Sebastian bathes Ciel, wiping the blood of Kelvin's manor from his porcelain skin.

"Sebastian?" Ciel murmurs, tilting his head to the side to look at his demon. Ciel's neck is now fully healed, as if the pentagram burned into his eye was all it took to reform a jugular vein.

"Yes, little master?" Sebastian responds. He's washing Ciel's back, his fingers gentle as they slide over the brand.

"Will you explain to me why the first tier members felt so... obligated to help Kelvin?" Ciel questions. He doesn't want to think about them, about those insidious individuals that very nearly delivered his demise, but he does want answers to his questions.

"Kelvin had imprisoned their siblings and led them to believe that if they would help him by assisting in capturing you then they would get their siblings back." Sebastian replies.

"I believe we should free their siblings." Ciel says. The first tier members did attempt to kill him but their siblings are innocent and he understands what it's like to be in captivity.

Sebastian rinses the boy off and starts lathering shampoo in his hair.

"That won't be necessary, my lord. I'm afraid that they were killed quite some time ago." Sebastian says.

"By who?" Ciel demands. He looks at Sebastian with his mismatched eyes and his demon, his demise, meets his gaze.

"The Doctor. He wanted to use the bones of children to make prosthetic limbs and Kelvin supported this cause. He allowed the Doctor to use the siblings of the performers for his prosthetic limbs in return for performing the surgeries on his face." Sebastian says. Ciel closes his eyes so water won't run into them as Sebastian rinses his hair.

"That's... that's absolutely _corrigible_. Kelvin was even more demonic than a devil, wasn't he Sebastian?" Ciel questions, his voice a huff that sounds close to a mirthless laugh. He can still see the Doctor, who at first appeared so generous. They all appeared to be decent people and ended up being just like every other human Ciel has ever met.

"Kelvin was as close as a human can ever hope to be to a demon." Sebastian replies. His fingers brush the brand again and suddenly Ciel's standing, shaking as water runs down his body.

"Sebastian, I didn't want this." Ciel says, his voice low. His little fists are clenched tightly and Sebastian rises from his kneeling position.

"I didn't want this!" Ciel repeats and he lunges, beating at Sebastian with his small fists. Sebastian catches Ciel before he falls and pulls him away from the tub, setting him down on the floor. Ciel continues hitting Sebastian and he allows it.

Ciel's dripping wet and the press of his body against Sebastian's soaks his demon's clothes.

"I didn't want this life! Why didn't you save me Sebastian?" Ciel demands, tears running down his face. Sebastian stares at Ciel with wide eyes, surprised at the emotional outbreak.

"My lord-"

"You said you saved me in my past life, that you rescued me from the occult. Why didn't you in this life?" Ciel cries, moving to strike Sebastian again.

Sebastian catches his wrists easily and holds Ciel close.

"I suffered in a room identical to Kelvin's basement for three months. No one came to save me. You didn't come to save me." Ciel accuses, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes.

Ciel looks like a cherub and Sebastian imagines that he'd taste like one as well, innocent and despair-tinted.

"My lord, I saved you in the past because you called for me. In this life, you called for me but I wasn't close enough to hear. I searched for you for a long time, Ciel Phantomhive." Sebastian murmurs. His matter-of-fact voice seems to calm Ciel down. His breathing slows a little and his chest stops rising and falling quite as quickly.

"You're right." Ciel mutters. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them, Sebastian's pleased at seeing his own mark burning in the boy's eye. "There was only one demon in Kelvin's manor and that demon was you and you are mine."

_Ah, such a territorial little thing._

"You are quite correct. Though Kelvin's obsession with you and his means of capturing you were quite repulsive, he was no demon." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel seems to have calmed down, for the most part.

Sebastian carries the boy into the bedroom and places him on the bed, drying him off quickly before dressing him.

"I'm surprised... a demon agreeing that someone is depraved. Wouldn't you find people like that worth your time?" Ciel questions as Sebastian tugs his black shirt over his head.

_Oh, yes. He'll play off his momentary lapse of courage now and pretend I didn't just see him vulnerable._

"Hardly. Each demon has a different taste, a different interest. Most demons do enjoy corrupt individuals but I myself enjoy more... innocent creatures." Sebastian murmurs. He leans down close to Ciel and places a small headband with devil horns on his head.

"Although, your costume isn't very innocent now is it? I daresay you make quite the devil." Sebastian purrs, sounding appreciative.

"Shut up." Ciel grumbles, blushing as always. He doesn't even bother questioning how Sebastian managed to get him an outfit identical to the one he was wearing.

"I believe I'll simply bandage your eye for now and order an eye patch to come in." Sebastian says as if Ciel hadn't said anything.

"That's fine. How are we going to explain it to my aunt?" Ciel questions. Signs of his breakdown have all but vanished and Sebastian's surprised at the child's ability to restrain his emotions.

"We'll just say that you have a minor infection and it needs to be temporarily bandaged for protection. Once the eye patch actually comes in we'll say that you've lost sight in your eye." Sebastian replies. He wraps clean white bandages around Ciel's head, covering his right eye alone.

"Hm. That sounds good enough. How are we going to explain why I was out so late? It's nearly four in the morning." Ciel sighs. He stretches his arms above his head languidly and Sebastian watches, is always watching.

"I believe that you'll have to mention me in your explanations at some point. Perhaps you could mention that you ran into me and I requested that you allow me to explain my grievances against you. You could say that a new contract was set in place and I'm back in your service." Sebastian says, rising from his kneeling position as he finishes tying Ciel's boots.

"Very well. Now, tell me... why did you omit knowing Kelvin and Undertaker?" Ciel questions. He's leaning back on his arms, looking at Sebastian's face that's cast in a dim light by the hotel lamp.

"My lord, I didn't omit my acquaintances with those two on purpose. As a demon, my lifespan is so much longer than a human's that events that seem like years to you are seconds for me. I met Kelvin and Undertaker in your previous life. Any lifetime I spent with you was not spent focusing on others passing through." Sebastian responds. "I was focused on you and you alone."

Ciel looks away as he always does when Sebastian admits something like that.

"Well... I'll keep that in mind." Ciel mutters in response. Sebastian chuckles.

"Shall we go, little master?"

"No. I want to make the terms of our contract clear. Am I still able to do so seeing as how we didn't have time to discuss them in Kelvin's mansion?" Ciel asks, finally turning to look at Sebastian again.

"Certainly. The terms of your first contract with me were that I help you avenge those who murdered your parents and sullied the Phantomhive name." Sebastian says.

"That still stands as my single goal. However, there are stipulations I would like you to follow. Now that we are in contract, you must never betray me nor lie to me. You must protect and obey me unconditionally. Do you understand?" Ciel questions. He's leaning forward now, looking up at Sebastian and his demon's expression is wide-eyed.

"Is something wrong?" Ciel asks.

"No. You're just so very similar to your original self. I agree to the terms of our contract." Sebastian says, kneeling again.

The pentagram on Sebastian's hand burns slightly, making the terms of their contract binding.

"Very well. Let's go to Aunt Angeline... I assume she's rather worried." Ciel sighs, rising from the small mattress and moving past Sebastian. He's as arrogant as ever, even with bandages covering his eye.

Sebastian checks them out of the hotel at the front desk, the attendant seeming confused as to why they were only in possession of the room for such a short amount of time but asking no questions.

They take a cab back to Angeline's hotel and Ciel can already tell that it's going to be a long affair explaining his whereabouts to her.

"Sebastian... I'm rather tired... " Ciel sighs. He can still see Kelvin's bandaged face and feel the knife cutting the side of his neck. It was a horrific experience and reminded Ciel of his past death.

"Don't worry, little master. As soon as you're finished speaking to Angeline you can go to bed." Sebastian says, knocking on her door lightly. It swings open quickly, as if Angeline were standing near the door, and then Ciel's in Angeline's arms.

"Where the _hell_ were you? It's four in the morning and you didn't even call!" Angeline scolds, obviously relieved. Angeline leans back slightly, holding Ciel at arms length.

"I'm sorry. I ran into Sebastian and we wrote out a new contract after he explained the misunderstanding at Undertaker's." Ciel says.

"Ciel, what happened to your eye?" Angeline demands, holding his face as if she's about to take off the bandages.

"Don't remove the bandages. That's another part of the reason for my tardiness. I was having eye issues before I even came over to France and earlier this night my eye was hurting so badly that Sebastian insisted I seek treatment. I need to keep my eye bandaged temporarily to prevent infection." Ciel replies. He sounds exhausted and his shoulders look tense.

"Why didn't you say anything? I could've had you treated earlier." Angeline grumbles.

"It's nothing." Ciel sighs, moving out of the hallway and into the hotel room. Sebastian remains in the hall and Angeline glances up at him, as if realizing he was there for the first time.

"Ciel... I received a call today asking if I knew where you were. They told me that you were kidnapped, supposedly by a Sebastian Michealis... " Angeline trails off. She's barring Sebastian from the hotel room and looking at him with distrustful eyes.

"That's obviously false information. Do I look kidnapped right now? Trust me when I say that those reports were falsified by Imogen. Sebastian is my servant after all, not my abductor." Ciel murmurs. He's sitting on the hotel bed, already tugging his boots off.

"I know but when you didn't come home I was afraid that those reports might be true and-" Angeline cuts herself off and straightens, looking up at Sebastian.

"I apologize thinking anything like that. I should've realized that you only have Ciel's best interests at heart." Angeline murmurs with a smile.

"That is true. I only want to ensure that the little master is happy." Sebastian says. Ciel arches an elegant eyebrow at his demon from behind his aunt's shoulder and can barely hide a smirk.

"Oh, so do tell me... how was Kelvin's party?" Angeline questions, turning to look at Ciel. Sebastian enters the hotel room fully and closes the door behind him, locking it for the night.

Ciel closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, struggling to remain stoic. He doesn't want to cry nor act like a child; it's moronic and won't accomplish anything.

_Although it would feel rather nice to be comforted by Aunt Angeline... Sebastian's not that great at it, being a demon and all..._

"It was rather lengthy and absurd. Kelvin didn't make an appearance the entire night, merely stayed in the basement from what I heard. Sebastian, you can answer any other questions... I'm going to sleep." Ciel sighs.

Sebastian groans internally at the thought of answering Angeline's endless questions about the social event. She wants to know who was invited, who wasn't invited, who sat by who, who wore what costume... the questions continue on for at least an hour before Angeline seems to realize the time and her state of dress, frilly pajamas adorning her body.

She blushes and stammers a goodnight sliding into bed hastily.

Sebastian waits until she's asleep before moving out of the room.


	31. Chapter 31

Sebastian orders Ciel's eyepatch from his phone, quite pleased with his skills regarding the small device. At Ciel's teachings, he's become quite adept as using his iPhone.

He takes a taxi over to Ciel's original mansion, the place where he first met the reincarnated Ciel Phantomhive.

Sebastian walks up the driveway soundlessly and enters the mansion, gazing at the familiar archways and large windows.

He begins manifesting everything back to it's original state in the 1800s, cleaning the floors, fixing all the broken windows and cracked walls. He makes sure everything is spotless before he manifests the furniture back. Once all the basic furnishings are in place, Sebastian summons some more modern things like televisions, phones, computers, and other devices that will make the house appear modern.

He's done with everything in an hour.

Sebastian returns to the hotel room by nine in the morning.

Angeline's already gone, a note on the nightstand claiming that she went shopping. Sebastian allows Ciel to sleep in late and watches the boy's small chest rise and fall.

When he finally wakes up some time around noon, his voice is hoarse and he's glaring at Sebastian.

"Angeline's not even here; I want to take these bandages off." Ciel grumbles, crossing his arms.

"What if she were to walk in?" Sebastian questions. The boy's pouting and Sebastian really wouldn't mind taking his bandages off just so he could see the mark of the covenant, _his_ covenant, burned into Ciel.

"I'd close my eye." Ciel returns. His voice is still hoarse, even after he takes a drink of water, and Sebastian touches his throat gently.

"Is your throat still sore, my lord?" Sebastian questions, checking the side of Ciel's throat for any swelling.

"Not from the wound. It's sore like it is when I get sick." Ciel complains. He's still pouting, something Sebastian finds unbearably adorable.

"What kind of sick?" Sebastian questions. "You do feel rather fevered... "

"How should I know? A cold or something of that sort?" Ciel replies. He glares at Sebastian for a moment but then turns his head away to sneeze into his elbow.

Oh, how Sebastian _loathes_ human bodies. They are so susceptible to bacteria and a virus can easily get through their immune systems. Although Ciel does have a rather nice body...

Sebastian has no idea what's plaguing his little master but it puts him on edge nonetheless.

How can he devour this boy's soul if he dies from some mundane virus?

"Should I purchase some medication?" Sebastian questions. He places his hand on Ciel's forehead, just to feel his fevered skin, and pulls it away when he realizes that it's far hotter than he'd previously assumed.

"Probably." Ciel murmurs. He turns his head back against the pillows and closes his eyes as if he's going to go to sleep.

"Don't go to sleep, little master. You fever seems to be extremely high. I believe a lukewarm bath will help cool your body temperature." Sebastian says, pulling the thick comforter off of his small body.

"You can't give me a bath." Ciel murmurs. "What if Angeline comes in?"

The boy has a point but Sebastian can't expect him to undress and get in the bath himself when he's falling asleep talking.

"I'll merely help you in the bath and then run out to get you some medicine." Sebastian says. Ciel sighs but holds his arms out to Sebastian so his demon can pick him up and carry him into the bathroom.

Sebastian undresses Ciel and places him in the lukewarm water, resting Ciel's head on the back of the tub.

"Now, please wait here until I come back. It should be a matter of minutes." Sebastian commands softly. Ciel nods with his eyes closed and Sebastian leaves the boy resting in the not quite cold water.

He walks for a few minutes until he finds a small pharmacy advertising free vaccinations.

Sebastian enters the building and immediately walks over to the counter.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The man at the register questions.

"I need medicine that treats the symptoms of a fever, sneezing, sore throat, and fatigue." Sebastian replies, listing off Ciel's symptoms.

"Hm. I'm no doctor, sir. You should probably get diagnosed rather than just buyin' medicines." The man says.

_Diagnosed? Is it that bad? Does Ciel need to go to the hospital?_

"What do you mean? Do you not have any medicine that will treat these symptoms?" Sebastian questions.

"No, we do. You could probably just buy some over-the-counter fever reducer and just get some rest. That would probably fix all your problems." The man responds. Sebastian nods and asks for fever reducer.

He charges it to Ciel's credit card and then walks briskly back to the hotel room, worried about how long it took him.

"My lord, I have the fever reducer." Sebastian calls as he enters the hotel room. It's silent, Angeline still out. When he enters the bathroom, Ciel's still laying in the bathtub, the water undoubtedly cold by now.

"Little master?" Sebastian murmurs, glancing at the child's pale complexion.

_Is he paler than normal? Do I need to get call a doctor?_

Ciel doesn't respond and Sebastian would be more worried except for the fact that the boy's chest is rising and falling. He's obviously asleep.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Sebastian were to lose Ciel Phantomhive to a common fever?

"Young master, wake up." Sebastian says. He can't help but smile at Ciel's ridiculous behavior.

_Falling asleep in the bath, really..._

Ciel's eyes flutter open and he looks around the room, jerking back in surprise when he notices Sebastian.

"That took quite a long time." Ciel grumbles. He stands up and grabs a towel from the counter, wrapping it around his body.

"Yes, I'm afraid I wasn't sure what kind of medication to purchase. I bought fever reducer; hopefully that will suffice." Sebastian replies. Ciel steps out of the bathtub and Sebastian watches him carefully.

"Very well. Give me the medicine." Ciel commands, holding his hand out for the fever reducer.

Sebastian places the bottle of pills in the boy's small hand.

"Chewable tablets? Do you think I'm a child?" Ciel demands. He opens the bottle regardless and takes two pills, chewing and swallowing them rather quickly.

"I'm going back to sleep. I'll be making a formal statement tomorrow regarding my kidnapping and explaining that it was all a huge mishap. A few other things will be going on tomorrow but I'll explain those to you when I get up." Ciel says. He drops his towel to the floor and climbs into his bed without dressing.

"My lord, perhaps you should-"

"Sebastian, I have a fever. Please, just let me sleep." Ciel says. He turns to look at Sebastian, his dark hair damp against his white pillow. Even now, fevered and rather sick, he still looks appealing in a way that isn't very common in humans.

"Very well." Sebastian replies. Ciel rolls over onto his side, facing away from Sebastian.

Angeline returns shortly after Ciel falls asleep.

"Why is he sleeping at this hour?" Angeline questions as she enters the room, carrying an abundance of bags.

"He had a fever. I gave him some pills and allowed him to rest." Sebastian says.

"Hm. Chewable pills I assume?" Angeline questions. She places her bags on the floor at the foot of her bed.

"Why would you assume that?" Sebastian asks.

"Because, he can't swallow pills. He's never been able to, no matter how many times his mother tried to show him." Angeline replies. She moves into the small bathroom, probably to reapply her lipstick, and Sebastian hides a smirk behind his hand.

It's just like Ciel Phantomhive to lie about something so trivial. Or not lie, rather _omit_.

"I really hope we're not staying in this hotel much longer." Angeline grumbles.

"Why, will you be staying with us longer?" Sebastian murmurs, glancing at Ciel's covered figure on the bed. The small boy shifts in his sleep and mumbles something.

"Yes, I think I'll be staying with Ciel until around Christmas." Angeline replies. Sebastian sighs inaudibly and leans back against the chair he's sitting in, crossing his legs.

It doesn't matter that Angeline will be staying with them, she can't stop Sebastian from doing anything- especially now that the contract is in place.

Ciel is Sebastian's and he already has laid claim to the slender boy's soul.

There will be no salvation for Ciel Phantomhive unless it is delivered by Sebastian's own hand.


	32. Chapter 32

"Yes. I do currently have a Sebastian Michealis working under me. He was recently employed as my butler." Ciel says.

He's standing behind a podium and Sebastian feels horribly amused at the fact that the podium had to be lowered so Ciel could be seen over the top of the podium.

"What happened to your eye? It wasn't bandaged before this whole kidnapping matter." A reporter demands.

"I have had eye troubles for quite some time now. I've been advised to bandage them by a doctor to prevent infection." Ciel responds. Sebastian enjoys watching Ciel list excuses and lie as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"So the kidnapping was all a huge misunderstanding?" One of the journalists questions.

"Yes, obviously. My caretaker, Imogen, had misunderstood that I was going on a business meeting. She seemed to think that Sebastian was kidnapping me, which wasn't the case." Ciel replies.

The press conference he's holding ended up gathering quite a crowd, a decent amount of business journalists and reporters showing up to hear news of the kidnapped head of Funtom Corporation.

"But wasn't your caretaker found dead? That seems rather suspicious in light of all this." Another reporter says, this one a female with glasses.

"Yes, she was. The cause of death is unknown and currently being investigated." Ciel replies. His voice is very matter-of-fact and clipped, presenting facts as he only knows how.

"Why did you keep your business venture a secret from your guardian? Isn't that rather strange?" The woman asks again.

Sebastian, watching from the side stage, has a feeling that she's attempting to undermine some secret she thinks Ciel's hiding. Angeline shifts beside Sebastian, as if she's worried. She doesn't even know the answer to these questions and it pleases Sebastian that he has Ciel's confidence.

"My business venture was of a private matter pertaining to events that won't be disclosed to the public. Now, I believe that enough of your questions were answered for you to write an article on this matter and close it." Ciel says. He walks over to Angeline and Sebastian, behind the curtain.

They exit the back stage and follow Ciel through a set of doors and out into a back alleyway. Sebastian keeps close to Ciel, enjoying the way Ciel eyes the street wearily.

Ciel's chauffeur picks them up and Sebastian gives the driver the address of Ciel's original mansion, Ciel and his aunt too busy discussing their arrangements to notice.

"I suppose I don't mind. Will you working during your stay in London?" Ciel questions.

"No, I'm taking a well-deserved break. I'm sure Mr. Sutcliff won't mind." Angeline replies, crossing her legs. Sebastian glances at the woman when she mentions the name of her employer and silently hopes that she's not referring to that Shinigami.

"I... what are you doing? We just missed the exit for my mansion." Ciel says to the driver.

"Little master, I went to the trouble of having the mansion at the end of Knightsbridge renovated for you." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel looks at him sharply, his single visible eye full of surprise.

"_The_ mansion on Knightsbridge?" Ciel questions. Ever since he'd relived his death at the end of his original life, he'd known that the mansion he'd met Sebastian in was the mansion he'd died in.

The mansion he met Sebastian in, in this life, was the mansion of his past life.

The dilapidated walls held secrets of Ciel's past, of things better left revealed by Sebastian's lips rather than horrific visions.

"Of course." Sebastian replies. He smirks down at Ciel and Ciel huffs, turning away.

"Well, we'll see." Ciel grumbles.

"I didn't know you were restoring a house near Knightsbridge." Angeline mutters. She's barely paying attention, staring at her phone while she talks to Ciel.

"It's an interesting enough house to warrant restoration. Quite nicely built." Ciel replies. He turns away from Sebastian and resumes staring out the window.

They arrive at the mansion within minutes. Angeline squeals in delight almost immediately, swiftly getting out of the car and entering the mansion.

"When did you do this?" Ciel questions, whispering as near to Sebastian's ear as he can.

"The night you returned from Kelvin's manor." Sebastian replies.

"Hm. Well, let's see how good a job you did." Ciel murmurs.

_I wouldn't mind seeing this demon of mine fail, just once._

Ciel enters the mansion and immediately freezes.

The difference is enormous from the last time he saw it. All the cracks in the walls are gone, the busted windows are repaired, the floors are cleaned, furniture is appropriately placed, and Sebastian even decorated, adding vases with flowers in them and Halloween decorations that Angeline coos over.

Ciel feels sick, nauseous, and he falls back against Sebastian.

"Little master?" Sebastian questions, placing a hand on Ciel's shoulder.

"I-I... don't feel... " Ciel murmurs. He's getting sick of remembering his past, of delving into his long-buried pain and torment. The familiar building is bound to unlock more memories from Ciel's past life and although the memory presenting itself to Ciel now isn't unpleasant, it's unwelcome.

Ciel doesn't particularly want to relive his human life when he already has one to suffer through.

In his memory, Sebastian's leading him inside his mansion saying, "This will be your manor from here on out. I believe everything is in order."

Ciel feels surprised in the memory, shocked because his mansion had... hm. Something had happened to it and Sebastian had restored it somehow. It's nearly identical to what he's experiencing in the present.

"Oh, look! An enormous kitchen!" Angeline calls, her voice loud in the large house. It draws Ciel out of the past and he moves away from Sebastian, standing on his own.

"I was just... remembering." Ciel sighs. There are so many things that he'd love to forget and he still feels a little sick from his fever yesterday; he doesn't want to remember anything now.

"Yes, I assume that will happen quite often in this house. I recreated everything so it was nearly identical to its original state." Sebastian says.

"Well, I can tell." Ciel replies. "I think I'll retire for the rest of the day. I'm not back to full health from yesterday."

"Of course, young master. I'll bring some warm milk to your room." Sebastian says. His dark eyes look divine in this light and Ciel wishes he could look at him with both eyes.

He wonders if his right eye could see Sebastian for what he really is, see what creature lurks beyond that pretty face.

"Ciel, this is wonderful." Angeline says, walking in from the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm quite pleased with it." Ciel replies. He looks away from Sebastian. "I'm going to my room for the night. Angeline, you may pick any of the guest rooms for the remainder of your stay here."

Ciel walks to his room and Sebastian walks to the kitchen, offering Angeline a polite smile as he goes.

He heats the milk for Ciel and remembers when he did it the first time, that first night, when Ciel had decided to teach him how to be the perfect butler.

Ciel had been so small then, even smaller than he is now, merely ten years old and so upset. He'd been a pouty little thing, a saddened brat that didn't seem to understand the demon he was dealing with.

Sebastian smirks and adds honey to the milk, placing the fine china cup on a small matching saucer.

The clinking glass reminds him of the boy's brittle bones and he wonders if his desire for Ciel Phantomhive will ever burn out, if he'll ever get this child's soul.

"Little master, I have your milk." Sebastian says, knocking on the closed door.

"Bring it in." Ciel commands. He sounds tired, as if recalling the past is taking its toll on him.

Sebastian enters Ciel's room to find his little master resting against the headboard of his bed. His bandages are off but his single eye is shut when Sebastian enters the room.

Once the door is properly closed, Ciel opens his right eye and takes the cup from Sebastian.

He sips on the milk, his eyes downcast.

Sebastian takes in the sight of Ciel, of his eye, marked by Sebastian's own seal. It suits the child, those mismatched eyes heightening his regal features.

"This is good. Did you add something to it?" Ciel questions.

"Simply honey, my lord." Sebastian replies. His voice is as sweet as that very honey and he takes the cup from Ciel when he's finished.

"Sebastian... " Ciel sighs. He turns onto his side, facing away from Sebastian.

"Yes?"

"Never mind." Ciel says. Sebastian smiles.

"Shall I wake you in an hour?"

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm going to Skype Abberline so you might as well." Ciel replies. Sebastian exits the room quietly, his feet silent on the carpet of Ciel's bedroom.

Ciel feels at ease in this mansion, a familiarity hanging about everything, and he slips into unconsciousness easily.

He dreams of black nails and an insidious smile, a dark chuckle and burning hands. He wakes with a jolt, Sebastian's voice rousing him from sleep.

"I believe you wanted to contact Abberline now." Sebastian says. Ciel nods and sits up, stretching slightly. Sebastian bandages his eye for him because he has to hide it from Abberline.

He feels Sebastian's eyes on him, watching as he always is, but Ciel's knows that he could order him to look away. He could order Sebastian to do anything.

"Get my laptop." Ciel commands, because he can. Sebastian hands it to him and Ciel opens it up.

His hands fly over the keys and Sebastian watches with mild interest as the boy types. After a moment, there's the sound of Abberline excitedly chirping.

"Ciel! I'm so glad I get to speak to you again!" Abberline says, with a smile.

"Yes. What was the reason you requested to speak to me?" Ciel questions.

"Oh, yes... that." Abberline murmurs. He sounds marginally less excited. "Well, you see... it's been decided by my boss that I can't allow you access to the database without you working on cases for us."

"You mean that I'm going to have to solve cases for you because the people at your work can't do it themselves?" Ciel questions. He sounds mildly aggravated.

"Well, that could be it. All I know is that I can't let you use our database unless you solve cases for us." Abberline says.

"Fine. Tell me about the current case. I'll solve it as soon as I can." Ciel grumbles. He's not interested in working for anyone or on any cases besides his parents' murders but the database is crucial in helping him research people.

"Well, the first case Landers wanted you to work on was actually in London, so at least you won't have to travel, haha." Abberline chuckles. When Ciel doesn't smile, he continues. "There have been murders going on near Whitechapel that seem to be nearly identical replications of the Jack the Ripper cases. I'll send you the rest of the information to your email through an encryption program. That's all I'm allowed to say over Skype."

"Very well. Send me the information; I'll review it and get back to you as soon as possible." Ciel says.

He closes his laptop without saying goodbye to Abberline.

"Sebastian, I believe that your powers are now completely at my disposal, correct?" Ciel questions. He rises from the bed and stands in front of his demon.

"That is correct." Sebastian replies. He wants to touch Ciel's cheek, his lips.

"Well, we might just have to put those powers of yours to use." Ciel murmurs.

_"As you wish."_


	33. Chapter 33

"Yeah, Undertaker's that way." A blond girl murmurs, popping the gum in her mouth.

"Why, thank you." Sebastian murmurs. The girl is running the counter at Undertaker's morgue which apparently doubles as a library of sorts.

"So, how old are you?" The girl questions Sebastian, taking in his features.

"We're not here to chitchat." Ciel glares, pulling on Sebastian's sleeve.

"Of course, little master." Sebastian turns away without another glance at the blonde, who seems miffed. Ciel smiles.

"Oh, little Phantomhive. I see the butler is back in your service. Not surprised, really. He seems to stick around." Undertaker murmurs, sliding in the room from behind a curtain.

"Yes. And I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't attempt to split us up again." Ciel replies. He takes a seat on one of the coffins in the middle of the room and Sebastian stands behind his master.

"No, of course not. I can't do anything now regardless... his claws are far too deep." Undertaker says.

"Will you please just give me the location of the hospital containing the victims?" Ciel demands. The only reason they were visiting Undertaker was to gather information.

"The victim's bodies are in the Royal London hospital over in Tower Hamlets." Undertaker replies.

"Thank you, I believe that's all." Ciel says, turning to go.

"Don't forget... I didn't charge you this time but next time you come, I'll be asking for a good laugh." Undertaker warns.

Ciel offers a wave in return.

"I have a feeling this is a bad idea. Why would I be here with you?" Ciel hisses, glancing over at his demon.

Sebastian's changing into scrubs and a white lab coat, putting a mask over his face.

"I'll say you're part of an honors student program, studying anatomy." Sebastian replies. He exits the small closet and pulls Ciel out, pleased that no one's around.

They walk side by side through the Royal London Hospital, following the signs until they reach the elevator and then riding it down to the morgue.

"How are we going to know which body are victims of the ripper?" Ciel questions.

"I borrowed the reports on the bodies. These lockers of sorts for the bodies are labeled; we merely have to access the bodies of 8-329 and 8-330." Sebastian murmurs.

In the hallway leading to the morgue, it's far colder and Ciel feels nervous. The idea of being around bodies isn't pleasant in the slightest, but he reminds himself that this is necessary.

Sebastian leads Ciel into a large room in the back of the hall that contains the autopsy tables along with the row of lockers in the wall containing the bodies of the deceased.

There are at least two bodies laying on the autopsy tables and Ciel pointedly doesn't look at them.

"Let's hurry up." Ciel grumbles, turning his back on the bodies so he's looking solely at Sebastian.

His demon nods and then moves over to the row of lockers, sliding out the first drawer containing one of the bodies. There's a strong smell of chemicals in the room and Ciel moves closer to Sebastian and the body, despite the fluttery nervousness of his heart.

Sebastian unzips the body bag and folds it down, revealing the naked body of a woman. Ciel can barely tell the gender though, let alone much else.

The wounds are atrocious and Ciel turns away, unable to look.

"Sebastian... memorize the cutting pattern and... and remember it for me. I-I can't." Ciel stutters, bent over and breathing heavily. He's trying not to gag.

"Understood." Sebastian replies. Ciel doesn't turn back around until he hears the zipper of the bag and the locker sliding shut.

"I don't think looking at the other body will be necessary. We'll be visiting the location of the crimes next and I'm assuming that will give us more clues than the bodies will." Ciel says.

"I agree with you, my lord." Sebastian murmurs. He knows that Ciel's merely scared but he decides that he won't tease his little master over it.

Sebastian strips the latex gloves from his hands as they exit the morgue and they return to the small closet so he can change back into the clothes he'd arrived in.

"The first two victims were found in the exact same location of the original Jack the Ripper's victims. Following the original murderer's pattern, the next victim should be found in between Wexford and Whitechapel." Ciel tells Sebastian as they ride a cab to Whitechapel station, where the first victim was found.

"That's assuming that this murderer is going to be performing things to the letter. Besides, I'm assuming you're hoping to save as many people as possible?" Sebastian questions, his voice an amused lilt.

"Of course. The less casualties there are, the more likely I'll be allowed access to the database for an extended time. I need to solve this before the FBI; that's the only way I'll be allowed access." Ciel says.

"Oh, so you're simply looking out for yourself. It's not because you care for these girls... not because you pity them?" Sebastian questions. There's a slight mocking edge to his voice, although it's teasing. Sebastian's mocking Ciel for his humanity, something he can't seem to comprehend very well.

"I don't pity anyone. Pity is unwarranted because how can anyone feel sorry for another when they have their own problems to deal with? Offering caring words and nonsense meant to soothe won't help anyone gain anything. However, these girls... they don't have to die like this." Ciel murmurs.

"Ah, so it's not pity." Sebastian responds. He still doesn't understand what's motivating Ciel, besides access to the database, but then again, Ciel Phantomhive was a compassionate soul, for the most part, whether he'd admit it or not.

They arrive at Whitechapel Station a little later in the evening than Ciel had hoped, the sky overcast and cloudy. Rain was imminent and Sebastian purchased an umbrella from a small kiosk to ensure that his master wouldn't get wet.

The area where the bodies were discovered isn't taped off anymore, much to Ciel's dismay, and without prior knowledge of where the body was, they can't investigate properly.

"Very well, we'll just head home." Ciel sighs. He doesn't seem too worried about it and the ride back to his mansion is spent in silence.

Sebastian notes that the boy doesn't seem upset, or worried about his imminent demise, now that the contract is in place.

The only difference are the bandages wrapped around his right eye. Sebastian wants to take the bandages off and kiss his closed eyelid.

Angeline is sitting in the living room when they get back, talking on the phone to someone in French. She waves to Ciel and Sebastian and after a moment gets off the phone.

"Sorry, I was talking to Mr. Sutcliff. Apparently, he isn't as okay with me taking off work for a little bit as I thought he would be." Angeline says. She seems annoyed but Sebastian catches the edge in her voice; she's lying.

"Is that going to be a problem?" Ciel questions. He doesn't care if his aunt stays one way or another. She'd probably be safer back in France but Ciel doesn't mind getting to see her.

"No, I just talked it out with him and everything's fine. So, where have you guys been?" Angeline questions, taking in their appearances.

Sebastian looks as put together as ever, like a movie star or model, and Ciel looks like the fragile child that he is, frail and vulnerable- although the look on his face is anything but vulnerable. Ciel always looks closed off, as if he's holding something back from everyone.

_Although, he does seem rather close to Sebastian,_ Angeline thinks.

"We were visiting Undertaker." Ciel says. He leans against the wall slightly, as if he's tired of standing. Sebastian idly wonders if those little legs of his are tired.

"Oh, I'm surprised seeing as how the last time you visited him, he misinformed you." Angeline says.

Sebastian wonders why she was lying to Ciel about her boss. Sebastian had only caught the end of their conversation but it wasn't about her missing work.

"He didn't misinform me, I merely jumped to conclusions. Besides, he does have good information." Ciel responds.

"I guess you're right. Well, I'm going to go relax in the upstairs sitting room. Care to join me?" Angeline questions.

"No, I'm going to have Sebastian contact my old tutors. I haven't been to school in far too long and I'm not particularly keen on the idea of going back." Ciel replies.

"Are you sure? We could play cards." Angeline offers. Sebastian can see that she's relieved, despite her offer to spend time with Ciel.

_Why is she so adverse to spending time with Ciel? Why lie?_

"I'm positive. Come, Sebastian." Ciel says. He leads the way upstairs and Sebastian follows.

Ciel has a feeling that his aunt is hiding something and he wonders what that is and how he'll figure it out.


	34. Chapter 34

"What should we do Sebastian?" Ciel asks, opening his eyes to look at his demon.

The water is warm around his shoulders as Sebastian scrubs his skin clean.

"I believe the best course of action to take would be for you to get some sleep while I perform background checks on the victims." Sebastian replies.

"Very well. I am rather tired." Ciel says with a yawn.

Sebastian's always been appreciative of Ciel's features but he thinks the boy looks stunning in this dim lighting, his skin glistening and eyes half-lidded.

Sebastian finishes rinsing the soap off Ciel's skin and then helps the boy out of the tub, drying him off with a beige towel.

"Sebastian, make sure to take note of any correlation found in relation to the victims." Ciel murmurs just as Sebastian's buttoning the last button on his pajamas.

"Of course, young master." Sebastian replies.

Ciel nods and then lies down, pulling the covers up to his shoulders. He's asleep within minutes and Sebastian smirks at his master's sleeping form, turning out the lights as he exits Ciel's bedroom. While Ciel sleeps, Sebastian uses the laptop in Ciel's office.

He has to try a few times to turn it on but after a few attempts he gets it. Sebastian finds it to be similar to a larger version of a cell phone with slight differences to divide the two.

He finds very little information on the two victims besides where they work, their age, and the location of their bodies. He decides that he'll visit the two victims employer in the morning.

Sebastian's turns Ciel's laptop off and then exits the boy's office, closing the door behind him and moving down the hall. It's late at night and he expects Angeline to be asleep but instead bumps into her as she tries to exit the house quietly.

"Oh, Sebastian! You scared me." She murmurs, her voice breathless.

"My apologies, Madame." Sebastian responds with a slight bow.

"I didn't want to wake you or Ciel but I guess you were already awake. I'm going to go see Mr. Sutcliff to talk about work. I should be back later tonight." Angeline says.

"It's rather late for a meeting. Do you need an escort?" Sebastian questions, ever the gentleman.

"Oh, no it's fine. We wouldn't be meeting this late but Mr. Sutcliff flew all the way out here from France so we're just going to meet now. I'll be fine." Angeline responds.

"Thank you though. You do seem to be a fantastic butler. And you seem to care for Ciel, which is good." Angeline says. She pats Sebastian's cheek and then moves to leave.

"We'll have to play chess sometime." Angeline offers as she exits the mansion. Sebastian's fairly certain they won't get to play chess.

In the morning, Sebastian wakes Ciel up with breakfast in bed.

"For breakfast, you'll be having eggs benedict and orange juice with a side of bacon." Sebastian informs Ciel.

"Eggs Benedict?" Ciel questions, rubbing his eyes.

"It's an American breakfast dish. It's simply two halves of an English muffin topped with ham, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce." Sebastian elaborates.

"Hm. Very well. Did you find anything out about the victims?" Ciel asks, sitting up against the headboard so he can eat his breakfast.

"Yes. The victims were two females, a twenty-one year old named Anastasia Cox and a twenty-four year old named Francis Johnson. They were both employed in an escort service which I assume you'll want me to visit later today." Sebastian responds.

"Yes, we'll go but what is an escort service? Isn't it extremely similar to prostitution?" Ciel questions.

"It can be, depending on the specific agency. Most often, the escorts do provide sexual services but this again depends on the specific escort and client. Escorts meet with the client at the customer's house or hotel room or the escort's residence, depending on how the agency arranges their meetings. I have a feeling that these girls' client lists will reveal some information on this case." Sebastian says, noting with amusement how Ciel has difficulty cutting through his English muffin.

_My, what a weak little thing he is. _

"Good. The closer we are to solving this horrid case, the better." Ciel replies. He finishes his breakfast and then Sebastian dresses him, making sure that Ciel has a thick jacket on; the weather reports had been calling for snow recently and although it hadn't fallen yet, Sebastian wasn't about to take any chances.

They take a cab to the escort agency the two victims were employed at, Fitzgerald Escort Agency.

"It has a rather professional name for such a shady business." Ciel murmurs as they walk up the stone steps and enter the large building.

The inside does look extremely professional, like an office building rather than a call girl service. Everyone in the building is dressed in business wear, as if they're trying to keep up appearances.

"Hello, I'd like to speak to whoever runs the clientele/escort meetings please." Ciel says to the receptionist.

"Shouldn't you be in school? You're a bit young to be here, don't ya think?" The brunette woman questions, turning to look at Sebastian with an obvious 'get your kid out of here' glare.

"I'm not attempting to get an escort, I merely want to see the list, more specifically, the clientele list for two of your escorts." Ciel replies. He seems miffed about the age comment and Sebastian smirks at the boy.

"Is this about Anastasia?" The receptionist questions.

"You knew her?" Ciel asks in response.

"Oh, yeah, she was probably the nicest girl around here. We'd go out for lunch every Wednesday. It's awful what happened to her and Francis." The receptionist murmurs, sounding somber.

"I'm looking into what happened to them. That's why I need her call list along with Francis Johnson's." Ciel says. The receptionist looks like she's going to say something else but then she seems to change her mind because she rummages around in her desk for a few moments and then hands Ciel a few pieces of paper.

"There. Those are the lists of Francis and Anna's last ten clients. I can't go back any farther than that unless I go upstairs to my boss' office." The receptionist says.

"We appreciate your help." Sebastian responds with a smile. He places a gentle hand on Ciel shoulder and guides him out of the building.

Ciel reviews the papers in the cab ride back to his mansion, reading the list of names. He doesn't mention anything to Sebastian until he's done reading through the papers.

"Both of the girls had the same last client; Grell Sutcliff. They both didn't work for two weeks earlier this month and returned to work the same day they were murdered." Ciel tells Sebastian.

Sebastian has no doubt in his mind that Grell Sutcliff is none other than the Shinigami that he'd met in Ciel's previous life. He hadn't ran into the man since Ciel had become a demon and he was hoping to never see the Shinigami again.

"Sebastian, Grell is Angeline's boss. Do you think she's involved in these murders?" Ciel asks, tilting his head towards Sebastian. There's a worried crease in between the boy's eyebrows and Sebastian wishes he could alleviate Ciel's stress.

"I'm not sure, my lord." He answers because it's true. Sebastian isn't positive about Angeline's involvement in the murders.

"I'm worried that she is." Ciel murmurs. "If I lose anyone else... "

Ciel doesn't finish his sentence but Sebastian understands the meaning regardless.

They arrive back at Ciel's mansion to find it empty, Angeline no where in sight.

"Sebastian, please go on the escort agency's website and look up the name of their most popular escorts." Ciel tells Sebastian.

"Right away, little master." Sebastian responds. He accesses the website from his iPhone and pulls up the list of most popular escorts. "The five most popular escorts are Anastasia Cox, Francis Johnson, Riviera Jones, Alexis Ammons, and Stacy Lexington." Sebastian reads aloud.

"Just as I thought. I think the next victim will be the next on the list. Which, in this case, is Riviera Jones." Ciel says.

"Sebastian, pull up her address. I think we'll pay her a visit."


	35. Chapter 35

They lie in wait outside of Riviera's apartment, Sebastian wearing his black peacoat and Ciel wearing jeans and a light black jacket.

"It's rather cold out here." Ciel complains, his arms crossed against the chill. He's wearing the black eyepatch Sebastian had ordered for him and Sebastian finds it extremely similar to the past he spent with the original Ciel Phantomhive.

_But really, they're one in the same,_ Sebastian thinks as he watches the boy.

"Here, take my-"

"Your jacket wouldn't fit me and besides, we shouldn't be waiting here much longer." Ciel interrupts.

Sebastian relents and leaves his pea coat on, watching Ciel to make sure the cold air won't cause his asthma to flare up.

There's a noise, like the scuffle of shoes on the cobblestones, and then high-pitched screams coming from the apartment.

Ciel automatically runs towards the apartment and Sebastian follows, in a sickening repeat of Ciel's past life. Ciel pushes the apartment door open and he sees the floor for a moment, covered in blood, and a hand reaching from the shadowed interior of the apartment.

Sebastian pulls Ciel back and covers his eyes but he's too late. Ciel's little body is shaking, trembling with fear and horror.

"You've made quite a mess of things, Mr. Sutcliff." Sebastian murmurs. Ciel hears heels on the cobblestone but he doesn't remove Sebastian's hand from his eyes, not yet.

"Oh, Sebastian darling! I had a feeling you'd be back with this brat. You look as good as ever; can't even tell it's been over 100 years!" Grell says in a flirtatious tone. Ciel pulls Sebastian's hand away from his eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" Ciel questions.

Ciel's only met Grell once but the man was obviously gay and extremely annoying, a bumbling idiot at his office that Ciel's aunt had to constantly clean up after. Now, he's covered in blood and grinning manically, a knife in his right hand.

"I fell in love with a certain woman. I'd think you'd agree with me when I say she's quite the character." Grell murmurs with a laugh. Ciel has a feeling of dread in his stomach and he just wishes he could stop everything, stop what's inevitably coming.

Ciel's aunt walks out from the apartment, blood on her face, and Ciel has a flash of a memory, of seeing her exactly like this in the past.

"I really hoped you wouldn't figure this out. I never really expected it to happen, honestly." Angeline sighs regretfully.

"She was hoping you wouldn't find out about this. We just wanted to paint everyone and everything red but now, we'll just have to paint you red!" Grell exclaims, suddenly lunging forward, a chainsaw appearing out of nowhere. Ciel doesn't have time to react but he doesn't have to, because Sebastian jumps in front of him and stops the chainsaw from hitting him.

Sebastian moves away from Ciel and Grell follows, attempting to cut Sebastian but missing. Ciel hopes that his demon knows what he's doing.

"Why are you doing this?" Ciel demands, turning to look at his aunt. He's shaking again, his fists clenched. This time, it feels like he's shaking with anger.

"You know I love you. You and your parents; I loved you all. But when they died, when _he_ died, I- I couldn't. You came back and that was wonderful... but your father... he didn't come back." Angeline says.

It's starts sprinkling, rain falling lightly. Angeline doesn't seem to notice.

"I loved you but... why couldn't _he_ come back too? Why did I have to lose so much and then get you back? You- who shouldn't have been born." Angeline hisses, her voice bitter. Ciel's single visible eye is wide as he stares at his aunt and her painful admission.

"When they said you were kidnapped by Sebastian, I thought: maybe there's a chance he won't come back. Maybe he'll stay gone and I won't have to see him, my dear sister's and _his_ child. But you came back, for the second time, you came back and he didn't. And I couldn't take that." Angeline exhales shakily.

"Well, it's all over now." Ciel replies. His chest hurts but he can't tell if it's physical or emotional pain. Even his aunt thinks he shouldn't have been born; his last remaining family member thinks he should have died with his parents.

"No, it's not over. This time, this time I won't yield anything!" Angeline screams, lunging at Ciel with a knife she pulled out of the arm of her jacket.

Ciel backs away from her and slams into the wall behind him, Angeline's knife cutting his arm and his eye patch falling off.

Angeline raises her arm for another swing and Sebastian's suddenly behind her, his black form all but disappearing in the darkness so Ciel can only see his demon's red eyes.

"Sebastian!" Ciel cries. _Don't._

Sebastian freezes, his arm outstretched towards Angeline. She backs away from Ciel and drops her knife on the ground.

"Sebastian... " Ciel repeats when he notices the jagged cut on Sebastian's shoulder.

"I can't believe you, Bassy! Risking a cut for that brat. I have to admit, I'm getting rather jealous. You're keen on that little kid, aren't you?" Grell questions, walking back towards them.

"And Madame Red, I am utterly ashamed of you. What are you doing just standing there? Kill him." Grell orders.

"I-I can't. He's my nephew... and he looks so much like my sister." Angeline whispers, her head down towards the ground. Rain runs down her face and drips down onto the stones below.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I'm afraid that mortals are too predictable; too similar to their past selves. Wouldn't you agree, Bassy?" Grell questions, smiling at Sebastian.

He suddenly plunges his chainsaw into Angeline, nearly cutting cleanly through her body.

Ciel stares in horror as his aunt's body collapses onto the cobblestones, blood pouring out from the enormous wound in her abdomen.

A film reel starts and Ciel knows what's going to happen, remembers this from his past, but he wishes he could skip it. Instead, he watches as his aunt's life is recounted from her point of view.

He sees his father, younger and just as Ciel remembers, complimenting Angeline. He sees his mother and father, when they tell Angeline that they're engaged. He sees Angeline help his mother give birth to him, sees her play with him and Lizzy when they were younger.

Ciel sees Angeline get married to a man she met in France, sees her choosing baby names with him, and then sees her loose her husband and her baby in the blink of an eye due to the car crash. Angeline starts working under Grell and then performs abortions on two escort girls. She finds she can't deal with this, can't let them give up what she desperately wants, and she kills them. Grell joins her on the second kill and the reel stops when it shows Grell stab Angeline with a chainsaw.

"What a bore. I swear, fate and all that is so horrendously boring. But, true love... that's really interesting. Don't you agree, Bassy?" Grell questions, leaning in for a kiss from Sebastian.

Sebastian kicks Grell in the face and he falls, hitting the cobblestones hard.

"How dare you hit a lady in the face? We'll have to talk about true love another time then!" Grell calls, grabbing his chainsaw and storming away.

Ciel's sitting on the cold ground, rain falling on him as he exhales shakily into the cold air.

"Little master, it's cold. I think we should get you inside." Sebastian says, kneeling next to Ciel.

Ciel turns to look at Sebastian and then he tosses his arms around his demon's shoulders, pulling himself into Sebastian's arms.

Sebastian stands and picks Ciel up, the boy's thin arms tightening around Sebastian's shoulders.

"Get me out of here." Ciel orders. He refuses to cry and instead bites his tongue until he can taste blood, until the threat of tears is gone for the moment.

Sebastian carries Ciel away from his aunt, away from Riviera Jones' apartment, away from the memories that are still fresh in his mind.

They take another cab back to Ciel's manor but Ciel remains in Sebastian's lap, his head against his demon's neck.

"Will this wound on your shoulder heal soon?" Ciel questions, lighting touching his demon's blood-stained shoulder. He raises his head to look at Sebastian and his purple eye glows in the darkness, presumably from pain or worry.

"Yes, it will heal eventually. The only reason it's taking so long is because I haven't had a soul recently." Sebastian replies. Ciel nods and then shifts off Sebastian's lap and onto the seat beside him. He watches the rain fall out the window until they reach his mansion.

"Sebastian, I'll be showering tonight and won't be requiring your assistance. You may retire for the night." Ciel says. He doesn't meet Sebastian's eyes.

"My lord-" Sebastian starts, only to be interrupted.

"Sebastian, go. I'll see you in the morning." Ciel snaps. Sebastian bows slightly and leaves his little master.

Ciel goes up to his room and showers mechanically, trying not to think. Unfortunately, Ciel never stops thinking, is always thinking, and he can't escape his own mind.

He cries for his aunt and for himself in the shower, water and tears running down the drain.

Ciel goes to bed with hollow insides and knows that he'll wake up the same way.

He just hopes that there's something left for Sebastian to devour at the end of their contract.


	36. Chapter 36

Sebastian dresses Ciel in black for his aunt's funeral.

Ciel seems saddened, even more so than he was in the past. Sebastian notes that the boy seems more fragile in this lifetime that he was in the past.

"Sebastian... you knew Grell, didn't you?" Ciel questions. He doesn't seem outraged or annoyed; he sounds emotionless.

"Yes, I had met him in the past." Sebastian replies, buttoning Ciel's little overcoat.

"What _was_ he?" Ciel questions.

The house is quiet, the two of them the only ones there, and it feels gutted. Ciel feels gutted, like he's empty on the inside.

"He was a shinigami; a death god of sorts. He reaps souls for a living. You could call him a grim reaper." Sebastian replies. Ciel nods, seeming disinterested suddenly.

"Shall we go, my lord?" Sebastian asks, still kneeling in front of Ciel. The boy stands and moves past him, leading the way out of the house.

Ciel's little shoulders are stiff with grief and even though Sebastian knows that grief and despair are delicious to taste, are a fantastic blend in a soul, he still wants that bitter expression on the boy's face to disappear.

Angeline's funeral is in a local funeral home, complete with fake flowers and sobbing friends and acquaintances. The funeral home reads a poem about roses and the color red, something Ciel must've supplied.

She's buried next to Ciel's parents and Ciel remains there long after everyone's gone.

"Sebastian." Ciel says. His head is bowed and he's staring down at his aunt's casket, recently lowered into the ground. They haven't covered it with dirt yet; they're waiting for Ciel to leave.

"Yes, little master?" Sebastian responds.

Ciel doesn't look up, doesn't straighten his shoulders, and Sebastian wants to soothe the jagged edges of his soul.

"Will you just devour my soul now?" Ciel asks. His voice is quiet but Sebastian catches his soft words nonetheless.

"I'm afraid I cannot, my lord." Sebastian responds.

_No, I won't cheat Ciel Phantomhive of his revenge._

"Even if I ordered you to?" Ciel demands, spinning around to face his demon. He looks desperate, as if he wants out of this, out of his life, and Sebastian wants to end Ciel's pain- but not this way.

"It is a violation of the contract." Sebastian lies.

Of course he could devour Ciel's soul. The boy doesn't know that though and Sebastian isn't going to steal Ciel's soul when he's wrought with pain like this. Sebastian will take Ciel's soul once the boy's revenge is complete and he has tasted victory.

Sebastian has waited far too long to accept any other outcome.

"I see." Ciel replies. He doesn't cry, even now. "Let's go home."

Sebastian knows that the boy's still aching but he can't alleviate the pain.

Sebastian doesn't understand human emotions, doesn't understand why his little master would be sad over an incident like this. Angeline had been weak and selfish, had caused her own demise. She wasn't someone to pity.

But Ciel had loved her and Sebastian didn't understand that either.

Ciel retires to his room once they get back to the mansion and Sebastian cleans the house, removing all of Angeline's belongings and placing them in a box that he puts in the closet in the guest bedroom.

The doorbell rings when Sebastian's about to enter the kitchen to prepare dinner and he pauses, wondering who would visit Ciel now.

When he opens the door, he sees two small blondes standing there, Alois and Elizabeth.

"You're still here?" Alois demands. He obviously isn't very happy about it.

"Yes, I believe I will be for quite some time. Now, what can I do for you?" Sebastian responds, bowing slightly.

"We came to see Ciel." Elizabeth chimes in. She's wearing a pink dress with a matching overcoat.

"I'm afraid that Ciel's asleep at the moment. Perhaps you should come by again another day." Sebastian says, smiling politely.

"You're probably just saying that so you can have him all for yourself you old piece of s-"

"That's no way to speak around a lady, especially a young one. I'm sure Ciel would agree with the sentiment. Now, please exit the premises." Sebastian says, still smiling.

He loathes the Trancy boy, was never fond of him and isn't now. He's a vulgar thing, with insecurities and vulnerabilities that are not tempting in the least. They're needy and desperate at best. Even Claude Faustus had realized that.

"I apologize, Ms. Elizabeth." Sebastian says, tilting his head towards the thin girl.

"It's alright. Will you tell Ciel we stopped by?" She questions, looking up at Sebastian.

"Of course." Sebastian replies.

They both don't seem happy to be leaving, Alois looking angry and Elizabeth looking sad. Sebastian closes the door behind him and sighs.

He finds most humans troubling, save for Ciel.

"Who was that?" Ciel mumbles, rubbing his eyes as he enters the living room.

"Alois and Elizabeth." Sebastian replies. He resists the urge to ruffle Ciel's hair; it's mussed up from sleep and looks impossibly soft.

"Ah. I'm glad you sent them away, I'm not in the mood for company." Ciel sighs.

"Would you like some warm milk to help you get back to sleep?" Sebastian offers.

"Sure. No honey this time." Ciel says, walking back down the long hallway to his bedroom.

Sebastian pours Ciel a glass of milk and heats it until it's warm enough to help lull his master into sleep. He takes it to Ciel's room and hands the fragile glass cup to Ciel.

_Teacups have always suited Ciel's slender fingers and dainty wrist,_ Sebastian thinks. He watches as Ciel drinks, the flutter of his dark lashes, the glow of his right eye.

"Sebastian... " Ciel murmurs, placing the empty cup on his nightstand.

"Yes, young master?" Sebastian responds. Ciel really does seem young now, when he's hurting like this, empty and upset.

"Will you stay here? While I sleep?" Ciel asks. And that's how Sebastian knows that Ciel's more fragile in this lifetime.

He normally wouldn't _ask_ Sebastian to stay, would instead order him to. Sebastian would've exploited this against Ciel in the past. He would've mocked his weakness and vulnerability.

"Of course, my lord." Sebastian says. There's no ridiculing tone in his voice, no trace of the old mockery. Sebastian knows that in the morning, Ciel will be back to his usual self, bratty and controlling, but now, while he's in pain, Sebastian won't add to his misery.

Sebastian sits in the armchair near Ciel's bed, playing on his phone so Ciel won't feel like eyes are on him. Ciel feels like he can breathe easier just knowing Sebastian's in the room, knowing that his demon's at his side.

His tie to Sebastian is the only thing he has left, the only bond that can't be broken by time or other humans.

Ciel won't let it be broken.

Even though Sebastian is going to devour his soul, Ciel doesn't care. Once he completes his revenge, there will be no point in living on... He will have nothing to reach for, no goal to achieve.

Sebastian is the only person Ciel would let be his demise and Ciel thinks it's fitting that Sebastian will be the one to kill him. His demon has been there since the beginning, why not deliver his end?

_It won't be such a horrible end,_ Ciel thinks. _As long as we both get what we want._


	37. Chapter 37

"I hate this. It's pointless." Ciel grumbles, glaring at the wall across from him as Sebastian dresses him.

"I understand why the FBI wishes to eradicate this issue." Sebastian replies, neutral as ever.

"Yes but why can't they do it themselves?" Ciel demands.

"Hadn't you just mentioned the other day how incompetent they were? Perhaps that's why." Sebastian responds with a smirk.

"Tch. Just make sure our bags are packed." Ciel orders, standing up.

"Right away." Sebastian replies.

He moves over to Ciel's suitcase and makes sure that Ciel has multiple outfits along with toiletries and a few other items the boy would be lost without. Sebastian's merely bringing his cell phone and a snack or two for Ciel.

"We're driving there, Sebastian. This city is mainly urban, although there are rural communities surrounding it. We're going to Preston, Lancashire- one of the rural towns." Ciel says. He leans against the doorframe and watches as Sebastian packs his bag.

"Very well. What were the parameters of the objective again?" Sebastian asks, grabbing Ciel's bag and carrying it out into the hall. Ciel follows Sebastian out in the driveway.

"There weren't any. Our objective is to 'eradicate the problem if necessary'." Ciel replies, getting into the car.

"I see." Sebastian murmurs.

He gets in the car and starts it, pulling out of the driveway. A glance over at Ciel shows black hair turned grey by the sunlight and thin legs crossed.

Ciel's still sad, surely, although Sebastian doesn't really comprehend that emotion. He's never felt soft emotions like that, can't possibly feel them.

Demons feel emotions on a different spectrum, less intense and consuming than human emotions, but still there. The most common emotions for demons are the ones that are frowned upon: lust, desire, sadistic urges, wrath, etc.

Sadness, depression, loneliness, fear... they are concepts demons have a difficulty understanding. Sebastian can't help Ciel as much as he would like to, can't really understand what he's feeling, but he attempts to please the child as best as he can.

_What human emotion would my behavior towards this boy categorize as?_

"Sebastian." Ciel murmurs. He's looking out the window, watching the city landscape slowly slip into a more country-like scene.

"Yes, my lord?" Sebastian questions in response.

"These people are suspected of being involved with the occult. If they are _the_ people that harmed me, that defiled my name all those years ago, I don't want you to kill them. I want to do it myself." Ciel says. His voice is hard, bitter from all the pain he'd experienced at the hands of the occult in the past.

"Of course, little master. Your revenge is yours alone to attain." Sebastian replies.

"Good. But don't allow them to touch me; I don't want their hands anywhere near me ever again." Ciel says.

"I vow that they will never touch you again." Sebastian says. His voice soothes Ciel's nerves, just a little.

Sebastian obeys Ciel without a second thought and Ciel feels like Sebastian's his, a possession and a person. All of Sebastian's haunting beauty, his femininity, his dark words and evil deeds, they're all Ciel's as much as they are Sebastian's.

"May I ask what exactly this town is suspected of?" Sebastian questions. They're in an area of nothing but trees and bushes around their car, no sign of crowded streets and bustling businesses.

"A few FBI members would stay near this area in a small little inn while they were performing business here or in London. Five FBI members have sent in resignations and decided to join this community." Ciel says. He turns away from the window and looks at Sebastian, giving him his full attention.

"That isn't so odd but this town is... odd in and of itself. It's one of those historical towns, where they are constantly dressed up in traditional garb from the 1880s or so. Also, no outside contact is allowed and the FBI is worried about their agents."

"Even though they resigned?" Sebastian questions.

"Because they resigned. Also, because two of the members were engaged and one was pregnant. Their families are threatening to press charges unless the FBI provides proof that these agents willingly entered this community." Ciel replies.

"Hm. I see what you mean about wondering why you were required for this. It's rather absurd; I'm sure they could handle something this simple on their own." Sebastian murmurs.

"I agree." Ciel sighs.

The sun's lower now and Ciel looks at Sebastian's eyes, red as blood and hauntingly beautiful. They're feline in shape and gaze, but the lash length makes them appear feminine.

"I believe we're here, young master." Sebastian says, turning his head to meet Ciel's gaze.

Ciel jerks his gaze forward, blushing at being caught staring.

He gets out of the car and Sebastian follows him. They'd parked their car a few yards away from the large gate entering the 'historical' village, around a bend in the road, so their car wouldn't be spotted just yet.

"I think we should just walk up to the gate and request to the enter their village." Ciel whispers to Sebastian.

There are two people standing guard in front of the gate although Sebastian isn't sure if it's to keep people out or from coming in.

"Will they allow us in as visitors or will we have to become villagers?" Sebastian questions. He keeps his voice soft and quiet.

"I'm not sure. We'd might as well attempt to get in as visitors." Ciel replies.

He walks up the small dirt road towards the gate, making sure Sebastian's close behind. They pause in front of the large wooden gates, the two guards looking at them expectantly. Ciel opens his mouth to make up some rubbish about wanting to visit but the guards push open the enormous doors and hold them open for Sebastian and Ciel.

"Well, I guess an explanation isn't needed." Ciel murmurs to Sebastian.

Inside the gates, there's nothing but an enormous caste, a monastery really.

It's not a city, it's just one enormous castle that is self-sufficient and doesn't require any imports or exports. There are women running around in nun outfits complete with the habits. Ciel doesn't seem any of the FBI agents anywhere but even more odd: he doesn't see any men.

"Sebastian, do you see any-"

"You two must be new. Are you wishing to take place in the induction ceremony tonight?" A woman questions. Her light brown hair is long, falling to the middle of her back.

"Yes, we are." Ciel replies with a smile.

Sebastian doesn't have any idea what Ciel's doing but he decides to just follow the boy's plan. Even if it leads them into trouble, there's no way Sebastian couldn't get them out of it.

"Oh, well then you need to hurry up! There's so much to do. You're far too old to be in the ceremony." The woman murmurs with a glance thrown in Sebastian's direction. "But you're young enough to join the priest's choir. He's looking for another boy about your height."

"The priest's choir?" Ciel questions. He wants to keep this nun talking for as long as he can.

"Oh, yes it's a very high honor. You'll have to be bathed of your impurities and such but let's save that for later; for now, let's go to the services!" The woman exclaims.

She reaches out to grab Ciel's wrist but Sebastian pulls Ciel back quickly, away from the woman's reach. A confused look crosses over her face and she looks at Sebastian for the first time.

"What-"

"We should probably get to the services." Sebastian murmurs. He still hasn't let go of Ciel's wrist and he can feel the boy's pulse beating against his fingers.

"You're right, I'll lead the way." The woman says, her confusion forgotten.

Ciel's immensely pleased at the fact that Sebastian remembered his vow and plans on keeping it. Although Ciel should've realized that a demon, well, his demon specifically, would always uphold his promises.

It's part of Sebastian's aesthetics.

Sebastian releases Ciel's wrist to follow the woman with the long hair and Ciel walks beside Sebastian.

_I won't fail, not with Sebastian at my side._


	38. Chapter 38

The services turn out to be Sebastian and Ciel sitting next to the woman with long hair in the chapel, listening to a man dressed in a similar fashion to a pope rant about the evils of the world.

Some of what he says makes sense but Ciel doesn't like hearing the words nonetheless.

"You must never stray from the path of good!" The man yells, passion evident in his voice. "You must never give in and let evil win!"

_Is that what I'm doing? Am I letting evil win by allowing Sebastian to have my soul?_

Sebastian seems amused as the man yells and tries desperately to get his point across. It's odd for them to be sitting in a church, a demon and his prey, listening to words that everyone else in the room considers gospel.

"There will be false prophets and demons everywhere! You must protect your soul and your virtue!" The man yells, working himself into a rectitudinous passion. Ciel's hoping that these services are over soon; he doesn't want to spend a long time in this strange town with occult-like citizens.

He's positive that this isn't the group of people that kidnapped him; they weren't the ones the attempted to kill him years ago.

Sebastian smiles when the man mentions demons and Ciel feels a shiver go up his spine when he sees Sebastian's fangs. Sometimes, it's easy to forget that Sebastian is a demon. He plays the part of caring human so well that even Ciel forgets sometimes.

He forgets that Sebastian hungers for his soul, wants to take the very essence of Ciel into himself and be Ciel's last dying breath.

"That is what I want you to keep in mind as the induction ceremonies go on tonight." The man says, his voice suddenly quiet for the first time that night.

Everyone stands up, all of the females exiting the pews and leaving the small chapel. There are no men, save for the one.

"Sebastian, did you notice that the only man we've seen so far is the man that was just preaching?" Ciel questions, turning to look at his demon.

Sebastian stills seems entertained from the man's speech, a lingering smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Yes, I had. It's rather odd, isn't it?" Sebastian questions, standing up to his full height. He offers a hand to his master and Ciel takes it even though he could stand up on his own.

Once Ciel's standing, Sebastian draws him close.

"Did you think he got his point across?" Sebastian questions. His smile is saccharine and Ciel wonders if it would taste as sweet as it looks.

"His point about what? About not allowing evil to take hold of us?" Ciel demands. He's annoyed at the way his pulse races just from being so close to Sebastian. He doesn't pull out of Sebastian's grasp, as if he's held there by gravity or the weight of his own soul, bound to Sebastian.

"Yes."

"Of course not, that was all rubbish. Evil isn't an outside force opposing us; it's inside all of us. Our job is to keep it at bay, not protect our virtue and relent from giving in to it. Sometimes the only way to survive is to give in." Ciel replies. Sebastian looks at him for a moment and then presses a kiss to the corner of Ciel's mouth, eliciting a yelp from the smaller boy.

"Where would you be if you hadn't given in to me?" Sebastian questions. He winds an arm around Ciel's waist, pulling their bodies closer and pressing his face against Ciel's neck.

"Dead." Ciel replies. He rests one hand on Sebastian's forearm, the other trapped in between his and Sebastian's bodies. Light streams in through the stained glass windows and turns Sebastian's pale skin red, blue, and yellow.

"What are you two doing?" A voice demands harshly, causing Ciel to pull away from Sebastian. Or rather, he attempts to pull away but Sebastian's grip is too tight so he doesn't go anywhere.

"This is a place of purity and good, not... whatever you are doing." The man says. It's the same man who was preaching earlier and Ciel doesn't meet his gaze, the blush on his face and his close proximity to Sebastian too embarrassing.

"My apologies, sir. We're new." Sebastian says. He finally releases Ciel and Ciel has to resist the urge to hit Sebastian. What was he thinking, holding Ciel like that in front of this man?

"That much is obvious. Have you been bathed of impurities?" The man asks. He's wearing a long white and red robe and holding a thick tome.

"No, we were just on our way to do that." Sebastian replies smoothly.

"Well, get along then. You can't spend time in the chapel; the priest's choir is going to be practicing. Are you going to join, boy?" The man asks Ciel.

"I suppose." Ciel murmurs. His blush is gone now but he still feels like he can't look at the man, not when he has an eye patch covering the demon seal burning in his eye.

"That's good. Well, go get bathed." The man says. Ciel and Sebastian exit the chapel and Ciel waits until they're outside to yell at Sebastian.

"You idiot! Don't hold me like that in front of others, especially people like that!" Ciel orders. He's furious and still trying to curb his embarrassment. Encounters like that with Sebastian always leave him flustered and a step behind.

"Of course, my lord." Sebastian replies. "Shall we go rid you of your impurities?"

"If we must." Ciel sighs. Sebastian laughs and leads the way.

The building they enter has a large pool-like tub in the center, a type of spa that was only available in the past. It's very archaic but Ciel values it regardless. No one else is in the bathhouse, something Ciel appreciates very much. He undresses and steps into the circular bath, the warm water feeling good on his skin.

There are shampoos and soaps lined up along the edge of the tub and Sebastian washes Ciel's thin arms and shoulders, his hands sliding down Ciel's back. He rinses the soap from Ciel's skin, his fingers brushing Ciel's brand. Ciel leans into the touch and allows Sebastian's hands to unwind his tense muscles.

"Sebastian, make sure that you do everything in your power to protect me." Ciel says.

"I would never dream of allowing harm to befall you, little master." Sebastian replies. Ciel hasn't doubted Sebastian's words in a long time, but should he? He hasn't questioned Sebastian's motives in far too long, has possibly become too trusting.

"Oh, good; you're clean now. Here's your outfit." A female murmurs, causing Ciel to jerk and splash water on Sebastian in an attempt to hide himself.

"What the hell are you doing, sneaking up on someone while they're in the bath?!" Ciel demands.

"Hm. It appears your mouth isn't as clean as your body." The woman says, looking down at Ciel. Her eyes aren't on his body, but on his face.

"I assure you, I'll take care of that." Sebastian murmurs, taking the outfit from her.

"Good. He has to be completely pure if he wants to join the priest's choir." The woman says. She leaves without another word and Ciel waits until she's gone before standing up.

"The sooner we leave here, the better." Ciel sighs. He's already weary of these people and their odd congregation of females and one male.

"I'd have to agree with you, my lord. However, I am quite fond of their choice of attire for you." Sebastian drawls, holding up the outfit the woman had left for Ciel.

It's a pair of little black shorts and a white long-sleeved shirt with red buttons and a red ribbon adorning it. There's also a matching white hat.

"Shut up!" Ciel orders, snatching the clothes from Sebastian.

"These are ridiculous." Ciel complains. He allows Sebastian to dress him in the garments regardless and he hates the look in his demon's eyes after he's dressed in the outfit. Sebastian looks amused, like he always does, and Ciel narrows his eyes at his demon's pleased expression.

"Let's go. I think the ceremony is being held in the chapel." Ciel says.

He feels nervous; occult ceremonies remind him too much of his past. He has to remind himself that things will be different this time.

Ciel has Sebastian and Sebastian is his power, his key to victory and his mighty sword.


End file.
